§ ADMIRAL FIELD (Sussex, Eastbourne)I beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty whether the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty have refused to carry out the arrangement arrived at with the Government of India last year for the construction of a suitable dock at Bombay, as admitted to be necessary for Her Majesty's ships on the Indian station; whether, seeing that the Government of India are willing to pay a moiety of the expense of construction, their Lordship will still persist in delaying the completion of this work; and, if so, will he explain the grounds for this change of policy; and, if, on the other hand, their Lordships still desire that the said dock should be completed, will he state whether the delay is caused by the refusal of the Treasury to grant the necessary funds for its completion.
§ THE FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY (Lord G. Hamilton, Middlesex, Ealing)The arrangement proposed as to the construction of the Bombay Dock 1702 was that the Indian Government were to build the dock and the Admiralty to bear a moiety of the cost. This division of cost raised financial consideration in which the Treasury necessarily had a leading voice. The delay which has occurred in settling the question arises from the inability of the Treasury to treat this as an isolated question of finance, but rather as one which carries with it necessarily a review of the general contribution which India makes towards the maintenance of an Imperial Navy.
§ ADMIRAL FIELDWill the noble Lord say whether there is any dry dock available?
§ LORD G. HAMILTONNo; there is not.
§ ADMIRAL FIELDThen what will be done with a ship that meets with disaster?
§ The question was not answered.