§ 1. Mr. BUTCHERasked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether it is proposed in case of war indiscriminately to arm British merchant ships in order to repel the attack of armed foreign merchant cruisers, or whether it is proposed only to arm certain selected British merchant ships; if so, on what principle such ships will be selected; and whether only ships over a certain tonnage will be selected for the purpose?
§ The FIRST LORD of the ADMIRALTY (Mr. Churchill)The answer to the first part of the question is in the negative. It is proposed, with the concurrence of their owners, to arm in peace time certain merchant steamers for the purposes of defence only. There is no tonnage limit, but the object is to provide defence for ships most likely to require it, and capable of carrying the armament.