As regards the new types of ships, Mr. Churchill observed
that the differences between the super-Dreadnoughts and Dreadnoughts were not less great than those between the Dreadnoughts and the pre-Dreadnoughts. At the moment, including the Malayan and the Canadian ships, we had twenty-four super-Dreadnoughts built or in build- ing against twelve German ships of similar type, and by 1920 we should have forty-five to twenty-four. For the moment the Admiralty favoured a special type of battle-cruiser which was the strongest as well as the most costly ship in the service. Mr. Churchill, while expressing his belief in the value of liquid fuel, admitted the difficulties of supply and cost. He believed, however, that they would be overcome, adding that we were on the threshold of the use of internal-combustion engines for warships of all kinds, though for the present coal must remain the main motive power of the British line of battle.
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