§ SIR GILBERT PARKER (Gravesend)I beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty what contracts have been given by the Admiralty during the last six months to British contractors for granite; what amount of money they represent individually; and what total value in annual wages is likely to accrue to the British workman.
§ THE FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY (Mr. MCKENNA,) Monmouthshire, N.The only direct contracts for granite let during the last six months have been for British granite setts for paving, and amount to £250. In the case of large works contracts, the 293 granite is ordered by the contractor and not by the Admiralty; but it is understood that the cost of the granite to be used in the construction of the Portsmouth Lock, the only big work for which the contract has been recently let, is about £55,000, and in this case the stone will be British. The Admiralty have no exact knowledge of the proportions of these sums which will be spent in wages.