Lower Deck Grievances.

Part of Orders of the Day — Supply. – in the House of Commons at on 19 March 1925.

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Viscountess ASTOR:

I shall not keep the Committee long, though the House has kept me long, for I have been waiting eight hours to say a few words in reference to local matters. I had been hoping that the First Lord had got complete agreement about marriage allowances for officers, but apparently this matter is still being considered. I must say that the Admiralty is the most considerate place in the world—it is always considering things. I quite agree that it is not their fault; it is the Treasury, and my advice to the Admiralty is that they should take the Treasury officials for a cruise. I do not think they know anything about the Navy, and it would be a splendid thing at the Manoeuvres, to take the whole of the Treasury officials and let them see, because that is where the real trouble lies. The Chancellor of the Exchequer has the advantage that ho can choose his point of view from many parties—Coalition. Liberal, or Conservative. I hope that when he chooses in regard to the Navy he will choose the Conservative point of view. When it conies to beer, he might choose from his Liberal past, but I hope very much that he will consider the Navy a a Conservative. I hope very much that the First Lord will not be robbed this time of what he knows are the just clues of the wives of men of the Navy. One hon. Member said a little while ago that they ought not to marry. The trouble is not so much with the naval officers or the lower deck; it is that the men in the Navy are more attractive than other men, and it is very difficult for them to keep single. So I do not think it is quite right to claim that they should not marry.

We are all pleased at Plymouth to see the widening of the mouth of the Prince of Wales Basin, and also the graving dock, but there is also a good deal to be done in the Dockyard, such as the roads and many improvements. I hope that the First Lord will not forget that. When it does come to a question of building the cruisers, I hope that he will compare the cost of cruisers built at Plymouth to those built at Chatham.