§ MR. NIELD (Middlesex, Ealing)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty whether he will state the cost to the country of building and completing for sea the ten cruisers of the "County" class, and the cost of the annual upkeep; also the nature of the contemplated change in their armament and the cost involved; and further, having regard to the recent reduction of the Navy Estimates by several millions sterling, how long the work of rendering these armoured cruisers efficient is likely to be delayed, on the ground of the cost involved.
§ THE SECRETARY TO THE ADMIRALTY (Mr. EDMUND ROBERTSON,) DundeeThe total cost of building and completing for sea the ten cruisers of the "Kent" class was £7,550,496. The cost of the annual upkeep is about £17,000 for each ship for coal and sea stores, while it is estimated that the average annual cost of repairs for ships of this class, for the first eight years, will be about £5,000 to £6,000. No change in the armament is in contemplation.