§ MR. BELLAIRS (Lynn Regis)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty whether he can state, from the Estimates for the new financial year 1908–9, what is the the total sum proposed for material, viz., shipbuilding, repairs, and armaments, prepared on the same basis as our expenditure of £11,102,400 for material in the previous year and the German total of £9,479,451 for 1908–9.
§ * THE CIVIL LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY (Mr. LAMBERT,) Devonshire, South Molton£11,221,534.
§ MR. BELLAIRSI beg to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty whether he is aware that the Abstract of the Navy Estimates which appears on pages 2 and 3 of the Navy Estimates for 1908–9 bears the date 29th January opposite the signatures of the Lords of the Admiralty; whether he is aware that the Estimates were largely modified subsequent to that date; and whether the Board will adopt in future the usual business method of making the date of a signed statement correspond with the date of the final revision of that statement.
§ * MR. LAMBERTThe Estimates were ordered to be printed by the House on the 30th January. I understand that it is an invariable custom that no Parliamentary paper should bear a date later than the order for printing. My hon. and gallant friend was informed on the 26th February that this date had no bearing on the final contents of the Estimates.
§ MR. BELLAIRSIs the hon. Gentleman aware that the date of printing is the one printed on the title page, and that it was the 30th January, whereas the business statement is dated the 29th, since which 327 time considerable alterations had been made in the Estimates?
§ * MR. LAMBERTI have nothing to add to my Answer.