§ Mr. MIDDLEMOREasked whether the Admiralty know the dates on which the "Nassau," "Westfalen," "Posen," and "Rheinland" (German "Dreadnoughts") were actually laid down; and when were the six later German "Dreadnoughts" ordered and commenced on the stocks, respectively?
§ Mr. McKENNAThe reply to the first part of the question is that the official date for laying the keels of the ships named is the first week in August, 1907. As regards the six later "Dreadnoughts," the contracts for the three of the 1908–09 programme were given out before August, 1908, and the ships were commenced on the stocks late in the same year. The official dates of laying down the keels have not been made known to us. Of the three ships of the 1909–10 programme, the contract for one was given on 1st April; the others, it is stated, have not yet been ordered.