Lord Lee, in a memorandum on the Navy Estimates, stated
that the number of officers and men would be reduced by 20,000 to a total of 98,500 during the year. Over 10,000 men would be discharged from the dockyards. Two small battleships would be laid down early in 1923. The main Atlantic Fleet would consist only of a flagship, eight battleships and two battle-cruisers, and the Mediterranean Fleet of only four battle- ships. The economies could only be justified on the assumption that the Washington Naval Treaty would be promptly ratified by all the signatory Powers. Lord Lee pointed out that the non-effective Vote would necessarily be increased by about £3,000,000, because so many officers and men would have to be pensioned. The effective Vote, on the other hand, had been reduced by half. Thi Admiralty, Lord Lee declared, felt that they were taking serious risks, in the belief that the Navy would not be engaged in a great war for many years to come. It is for statesmen to see that that belief is justified.
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