ABSTRACT
The British Government wanted to come to an agreement which would end the competition. The value of Tirpitz’s assurances was not increased for British readers by his remarks on the larger question of a naval agreement. On 26 November the Reduction of Armaments Committee sent a third memorial to the Prime Minister in favour of further economies in the Naval Estimates. ‘Public opinion in Germany and in the world at large increasingly measures the probable relations of England and Germany by their respective naval expenditure. An increase in naval expenditure on both sides is undoubtedly viewed by public opinion with apprehension. From the problem of avoiding public and acrimonious discussions Edward Grey turned to the particular difficulty with which the British Government had been faced in the absence of full information about German plans. He had taken the precaution of telling Metternich what he proposed to say about German intentions.
