§ MR. HAROLD COX (Preston)To ask the Secretary to the Admiralty whether, on the assumption now made by the German Government that the life of a battleship is only twenty years, he can, without taking responsibility for this assumption, state what is the annual cost of a first-class battleship in full commission, taking interest at 3 per cent., and allowing for interest, depreciation of capital, wages of officers and crew, and a proportionate charge for pensions, repairs, and renewals, and other necessary items; and whether he can give corresponding information with regard to the annual cost of a first-class torpedo boat and a first-class destroyer respectively, assuming the life of each of these vessels to be ten years.
(Answered by Mr. Edmund Robertson.) The annual cost in full commission of the under-mentioned classes of vessel taking interest at 3 per cent. and allowing for interest, depreciation of capital, wages of officers and crew, and a proportionate charge for pensions, repairs, and renewals, and other necessary items, and also assuming a life of twenty years in the case of the battleships and ten years in the case of the torpedo-boat destroyers and first-class torpedo boats respectively, is as follows—
| £ | |
| First-class battleship | 231,500 |
| Torpedo-boat destroyer | 17,500 |
| First-class torpedo boat | 6,100 |