§ 7. Commander Viscount CURZONasked the First Lord of the Admiralty if he will state which ex-German submarines have been sold and to what firms; whether tenders were invited; what was the purchase price in each case; if the money is credited to the Naval Prize Fund; what are the legal costs attaching to the sale; whether these ships were sold complete with all fittings; if so, whether any stipulations were made as to the disposal of the more valuable fittings, such as lenses of periscopes, engines, and accumulators; whether it will be possible and advisable to use such fittings in the national service; if opportunity will be given to those who desire to do so to acquire portions of these ships or their fittings as mementoes; if so, to whom application should be made; and how it is proposed to deal with the remaining prizes captured from the German Navy?
§ Dr. MACNAMARAUp to the present fifty-four ex-German submarines have been sold, after tenders had been invited by advertisement in the public Press. I hope my Noble Friend will not press me at the moment for a detail of the prices realised, as there are other ex-German submarines to be sold. All details will, of course, go to the Comptroller and Auditor-General. The periscopes have been or will be removed from the submarines, also the Diesel engines are excluded from the sales. They will be sold separately. Accumulators and other fittings, having a scrap value only, are included in the sales. The proceeds of the sale of these submarines are to be pooled and subsequently divided among the Allies on a scale to be settled by the Supreme Council, and the value of all fittings removed by the Admiralty would, of course, be debited 1258 against our share of the proceeds. These vessels do not come within the scope of the Naval Prize Act of 1918, which regulates the payments into the Naval Prize Fund. So far as I am aware, no legal costs have been incurred in connection with their sale. As regards the last part of the question, no decision has yet been arrived at regarding the disposal of the remaining vessels captured from the German Navy, and this question will be decided by the Supreme Council now sitting in Paris.