§ *MR. NUTTALL (Lancashire, Stretford)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty whether the completion of the large and powerful fleet of nine battleships and the ten armoured cruisers in 1909, at an estimated cost of £29,000,000, will not place the Navy far beyond the three-Power standard which we already possess; and whether, in 756 view of the fact that neither France nor Germany had laid down a single ship of the "Dreadnought" type in 1906, the Government will consider the desirability of deferring the commencement of the three additional ships of that type and other ships proposed in this year's programme until next year.
§ MR. EDMUND ROBERTSONIt would be premature to make any statement in regard to the shipbuilding programme until the discussion on Vote 8.