§ MR. MITCHELL-THOMSON (Lanarkshire, N. W.)I beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty whether the super-session of the memoranda regulating the absence on repairs of battleships from the Channel Fleet applies also to the case of cruisers; and what is the numerical limit, if any, which in the opinion of the Admiralty should be set upon the absence simultaneously of cruisers from the Channel Fleet.
§ MR. MCKENNAThe reply to the first part of the hon. Member's Question is in the affirmative. No numerical limit has been fixed.
§ MR. MITCHELL-THOMSONI beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty whether, in view of the fact that the memoranda regulating the absence of battleships for repairs from the Channel Fleet are now announced to be superseded, the Admiralty propose to prescribe any limitation in the number of battleships which may be so absent simultaneously; and, if so, what is that numerical limitation.
§ MR. MCKENNAThe reply to the first part of the hon. Member's Question is in the negative.