§ MR. JAMES HOPE (Sheffield, Brightside)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty whether he is in a position to state when invitations to tender are likely to be issued in respect of the armour plate required for the first class cruisers included in the Naval programme of last financial year.
† See page 781.
§ THE CIVIL LORD OF the ADMIRALTY (Mr. PRETYMAN, Suffolk, Woodbridge)The recent decision to increase the thickness of armour of the new vessels of the "County" class involved an alteration in the size of the ships, and consequently necessitated the preparation of a new set of detailed particulars, on which to invite tenders. These figures have now been received, and it is hoped that invitations to tender will be issued within a fortnight from the present date.