§ MR. NIELDTo ask the Secretary to the Admiralty whether he will state what, would be the cost of bringing the armament of the ten cruisers of the "County" class up to the strength necessary to render them fit to engage in action with contemporary armoured vessels of other Powers; and whether, having regard to their small fighting value, as at present armed, compared with the cost to the 157 nation of building and maintaining them in commission, it would be cheaper to incur the additional outlay necessary to constitute them efficient armoured cruisers than to leave them in their present condition.
(Answered by Mr. Edmund Robertson.) The cost of re-arming and protecting with thicker armour cruisers of the "County" class would be prohibitive, and its effect would probably be seriously to reduce their speed. As regards the second part of the Question, the reply is in the negative.