Lord Lee of Fareham informed the House of Lords on
Tuesday that the Admiralty adhered to its decision to build the two capital ships sanctioned by the Washington Treaty. They would be reasonably proof against any likely methods of attack, whether from the air or from under the water. They would cost, with all accessories and reserve stores, 28,000,000 apiece. When they were complete, four existing ships would be scrapped, thus saving the employment of 1,100 men and £250,000 in upkeep. America now had three post-Jutland ships, Japan had two, while we had only one " hybrid battle-cruiser," the ' Rood.' Thus, if we did not build the new ships, we should have to abandon the one-power standard—a course which would be fatal to our prestige. Lord Lee dismissed as negligible the outcry against capital ships. The great sailors, headed by Lord Beatty, were, he said, unanimous in their belief that capital ships would. continua to be essential.
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