§ 29. Captain Marsdenasked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he is now in a position to state the present strength of His Majesty's Navy, giving exact numbers of all classes of ships, specifying in detail those in full commission, with reduced crews, in reserve, and on the sale or disposal lists.
Mr. DugdaleNo, Sir. I regret that it would not be in the public interest to give this very detailed information. Such information as can be made public is contained in the Navy List, of which copies are available in the Library.
§ Captain MarsdenIn view of the fact that the war has been over for a long time and that it has always been the custom for this country to know the strength of the Navy for which we are paying, cannot the hon. Gentleman reconsider this decision?
Mr. DugdaleThis is a decision which is similar, I understand—though, naturally, I am not responsible for it—to that taken in the other Service Departments, and customs do sometimes change.