§ 49. Sir A. Knoxasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he can give any approximate estimate of the cost of defence annually in the 10 years after the war in view of the lesson learned by our lack of preparation previous to 1939 and the higher rates of pay of personnel which will be necessary?
§ The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Sir Kingsley Wood)As I said in my speech on 2nd February, we must first and above all make adequate provision for our contribution to the Armed Forces which will be necessary after the war for international security. The extent of that provision, however, is dependent on many factors which at present can only be regarded as conjectural.