99. Captain BENNasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty what was the amount of the first Estimate put before Parliament for the Rosyth base; and what was the final total cost incurred?
§ Commander EYRES-MONSELLThe first Estimate was £2,500,000 in July, 1905, and was for an enclosed basin with an entrance lock and one large graving dock with the necessary shops, storehouses, and other appurtenances. The hon. and gallant Gentleman will remember that on the change of Government five months later the scheme was suspended, and it was not until March, 1909, that contracts were made for works at Rosyth, which included a submarine depot and other buildings not contemplated in the scheme of 1905. The work was to be completed in seven years at an estimated cost of £3,387,000. For the last part of the question I would refer to the answer given on the 4th July to the hon. and gallant Member for Central Hull. That figure, however, includes the cost of two extra docks, a destroyer base, and a large number of other works and buildings which were ordered as the German menace grew and, in some instances, after the War had broken out.