HC Deb 06 July 1925 vol 186 cc7-8
19. Mr. COUPER

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if the steamer which it is suggested should convey the members of the proposed Parliamentary delegation to Newfoundland is being constructed in a British shipyard?

Mr. AMERY

I am informed that the Newfoundland Government has generously offered to place at the disposal of the Empire Parliamentary Delegation accommodation in the steamship "Caribou," which will be making her maiden voyage. I am further informed that the "Caribou," for which tenders were invited in this country, but could not, owing to the very wide difference in price, be accepted, is under construction in a Dutch shipyard.

Mr. COUPER

Would a ship built in a foreign shipyard, and carrying a British delegation from a British Dominion, be registered on arrival in Britain as a British ship, and would it sail under the British flag, although it was a foreign-built ship?

Mr. AMERY

I imagine that a good many foreign-built ships are registered under the British flag.

Mr. STEPHEN

Does the Prime Minister not think that the time has come when the Government should do something in connection with contracts like this going abroad?

Mr. SPEAKER

That does not arise out of the question.

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