Before dealing with the body of Mr. McKenna's speech, we
may point out that he expressed want of any special informa- tion about the Brazilian ships ; but he assured Mr. Lee that the Government would watch the career of the ships with considerable interest. He agreed that it did not seem likely that Brazil could be launching into a Navy of such a size as to require three ships of this magnitude. We cannot profess to find offhand a satisfactory solution of the question of the Brazilian ships ; but we are bound to point out that the possibility of our rivals being able to go into the market and buy completed 'Dreadnoughts' is bound to affect very much our shipbuilding calculations. The existence of this possibility clearly makes it impossible to construct an accurately balanced Shipbuilding Programme, which, according to Mr. McKenna, should be enough, but not the least bit more than enough, to give us security. The possi- bility of purchasing 'Dreadnoughts' ready-made becomes, in fact, a strong argument for indulging in a considerable margin over and above bare security.
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