§ MR. BELLAIRSTo ask the First Lord of the Admiralty on what basis the Board made the calculation in which they inform the Commonwealth Government that the first cost of six destroyers will be £473,500, or an average of £78,900 each; what type of destroyer does the Board refer to, and what is the speed; and whether the Board took into consideration that the destroyer "Swift" is set down in the Navy Estimates as costing £250,000 and the remaining twelve at least £120,000 each, exclusive of armaments.
(Answered by Mr. McKenna.) The destroyers taken as the basis of the calculation were of the "River" class, which is clearly stated in the Blue-book. The speed is quoted as 25.5 knots.