§ MR. BELLAIRS (Lynn Regis)To ask the Secretary to the Admiralty what battleships and armoured cruisers have been laid down by Germany since the beginning of 1907; on what dates were they laid down; what additional battleships and armoured cruisers are to be 401 laid down this year; and whether the Admiralty is yet in a position to give the main armaments of the ships now being built, having regard to the fact that the last official Return describes the battleship armament as fourteen or sixteen 11-inch guns and the cruiser armament as ten or twelve 11-inch guns.
(Answered by Mr. Edmund Robertson.) It has been reported in the Press that four battleships and two armoured cruisers were laid down in Germany during 1907, but information as to the dates of laying down and types of armament has not yet been published by the German Government, and is therefore not available. The latest German Navy Bill provides that three battleships and one armoured cruiser should be commenced during the coming financial year.