§ Mr. BELLAIRSasked the First Lord of the Admiralty if he will state on what date tenders were called for the gun-mountings for the two battleships to be laid down in July; and on what date were the contracts signed for these gun-mountings?
§ Mr. McKENNATenders were invited on 30th April, and orders will shortly be placed.
§ Mr. BELLAIRSasked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether the first five submarine boats built by this country were ordered some months before Parliament was aware that the step was contemplated; whether the agreement for the purchase of the "Triumph" and "Swift-sure" was made before Parliament sanctioned it; whether, when Lord Goschen was at the Admiralty, a supplementary programme of shipbuilding was ordered without Parliamentary sanction; and, if 1032 so, whether the Admiralty, relying on these precedents, ordered the gun-mountings for the ships of this year's programme before Parliament met, so as to relieve the congestion of work that is probable in the near future?
§ Mr. McKENNAThe reply to the first three parts of the question is in the affirmative. With regard to the last part, as the first two ships will not be laid down till July, no necessity arose for ordering the gun-mountings before Parliament met.