asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the number of officers and men, all ranks, in the navies of Great Britain, the United States of America, Japan, France, and Italy in July, 1924, and in July, 1929?

As regards Great Britain, the actual numbers borne were:

July, 1924	…	…	…	98,818
July, 1929	…	…	…	99,268

Figures of personnel for July, 1924, and July, 1929, for foreign Powers are not available, but the numbers voted for 1924–1925 and 1929–1930 are as follow:

	1924–25.	1929–30.
United States of America	116,579	114,500
Japan	72,831	85,000
France	59,246	62,000
Italy	45,000	46,000

The figures are not strictly comparable, one of the principal points of divergence being that the figures for the United States include a complete Naval Air Service, constructor officers and civil engineers: in addition United States auxiliary craft are manned by active service ratings.