§ Mr. NIELD (Middlesex, Ealing)To ask the Secretary to the Admiralty to what cause must be attributed the delay in the construction of the armoured cruiser "Defence," which, although laid down within a month of the "Minotaur" and "Shannon" of the same class will not be ready for sea until nine months later than those vessels.
(Answered by Mr. Edmund Robertson.) The time for the completion of the "Defence" was extended to avoid undue fluctuation in the supply of work to the yard.