Lord of the Admiralty, the House of Common: noon, said that Germany in the course of the war was doubtless able to initiate and perhaps to complete large men-of-war with a powerful armament.
The Government had no evidence that German 17-inch naval guns existed but given time and labour there was no difficulty in making them but he was not sure that the conjecture of the 17-inch gun was plausible.
He emphasized the preparedness of the British Navy. Every dockyard, public or private, in the United Kingdom and Mediterranean, was being used for new construction or for repairs, hence chy. it was impossible to add to the magnitude of Great Bri-twin's preparations, The most they could do was to alter the type of ship, but nothing had justified the Government in think. ing that any serious error of judgement has been made regarding the type which is being constructed.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.