§ SIR A. HAYTER (Walsall)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty what is the justification for the expenditure of £160,000 upon the refit of nine cruisers, which within eighteen months were to be sold as of being no further use in the Navy; and whether he agrees in the view, expressed before the Public Accounts Committee, that the refits had not added much to the value of the ships, because they are not sold for commercial purposes and 922 fetch little more than the price of old iron.
§ THE CIVIL LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY (Mr. ARTHUR LEE, Hampshire, Fareham)At the time these cruisers were refitted they were still on the active list, and were necessarily kept in repair in case any emergency should arise. For this purpose the amounts expended did add to their seagoing efficiency.