§ MR. BELLAIRSI beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he is aware that an assurance was given by the Admiralty in the House on 11th June, 1907, that an adequate reserve of plates for the repair of destroyers would be kept in future; whether the destroyer "Quail" had the whole of her bow torn off by a collision with the "Attentive," and the destroyer "Kestrel" lost a portion of her bow in collision with the "Teviot," both on the night of 6th August; and whether he can state what interval of time elapsed before sufficient plates were received from the contractors to enable both vessels to be repaired at Portsmouth.
§ MR. MCKENNAYes, such an assurance was given; and my hon. friend correctly describes the damage done in the accident referred to. The reserve of ordinary plates was not drawn upon because they were not of the exact dimensions required, and time permitted of plates of exact sizes being obtained from contractors.