HC Deb 13 December 1900 vol 88 cc683-4
SIR JOHN COLOMB (Great Yarmouth)

I beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury, as representing the First Lord of the Admiralty, whether, during the current financial year, the output of armour, hulls, and machinery has been entirely satisfactory as regards quantity, quality, and delivery; and whether it may be anticipated that the ship-building programme for the year will be accomplished in its entirety within the specified time.

THE CIVIL LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY (Captain PRETYMAN,) Suffolk, Woodbridge

It is believed that the money voted for armour, hulls, and machinery for the current financial year will be wholly or almost wholly earned by 31st March. The character of the work finally received has been uniformly satisfactory. It is expected that the aggregate of work accomplished in the shipbuilding of the year will not be less than was expected when the Estimates were laid before the House at the commencement of last session, although in some directions less and in others more progress will have been made than was then anticipated.

SIR JOHN COLOMB

I beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury, as representing the First Lord of the Admiralty, whether arrangements have been made so to develop our means of output of armour, hulls, and machinery, as to enable shipbuilding programmes of the immediate future to be determined by reference to our national requirements unrestricted by insufficiency of our power of production.

CAPTAIN PRETYMAN

Ever since the engineers' strike of 1897 the arrears in shipbuilding have been a constant source of anxiety to the Board, and they have regarded the position as most unsatisfactory. How to prevent a recurrence of these delays and how to secure that the national resources of production can be most fully utilised and developed to meet Imperial requirements is occupying the serious attention of the Admiralty.

MR. J. F. HOPE (Sheffield, Brightside)

Have inquiries been made as to the willingness of contractors already contracting with the Admiralty to increase their means of production?

CAPTAIN PRETYMAN

That is part of the question under consideration.

MR. GIBSON BOWLES (Lynn Regis)

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the English naval contractors have produced two battleships for the Japanese Government?

MR. SPEAKER

Order, order!