During my term of office the then First Lord, Mr. Churchill, raised the
question of a so-called naval holiday, and proposed, for financial
reasons as much as on account of the pacifist inclinations of his party,
a one year's pause in armaments. Officially the suggestion was not
supported by Sir Edward Grey. He never spoke of it to me, but Mr.
Churchill spoke to me on repeated occasions.
I am convinced that his initiative was honest, cunning in general not
being part of the Englishman's constitution. It would have been a great
success for Mr. Churchill to secure economies for the country and to
lighten the burden of armament, which was weighing heavily on the
people.
I maintain that it would have been difficult to support his intention.
How about the workmen employed for this purpose? How about the technical
personnel? Our naval program was settled, and it would be difficult to
alter it. Nor, on the other hand, did we intend exceeding it. But he
pointed out that the means spent on portentous armaments could equally
be used for other purposes. I maintain that such expenditure would have
benefited home industries.