§ 56. Mr. Benceasked the First Lord of the Admiralty what was the cost of equipping the s. s. "Gothic" for the journey to the Antipodes; and the cost of running the ship for Her Majesty's journey, including cost of providing warships on the flight route
§ The First Lord of the Admiralty (Mr. J. P. L. Thomas)No final figure has yet been agreed with the contractors for the work recently carried out on the s. s. "Gothic" to make her ready for the Royal tour to Australia, New Zealand and Ceylon. I should, therefore, prefer to await a final settlement before giving any figures. The running costs of the vessel on this tour, together with the extra cost of Her Majesty's ships engaged on flight protection duties, are estimated at £320,000.
§ Sir J. LucasAs the Commonwealth have given us over £1,000 million in the last 14 years in money, goods and services, would not the sum mentioned be a very small amount to pay to give the people of the Commonwealth the pleasure of seeing Her Majesty?
§ Mr. ThomasI should like to add to what my hon. Friend has said that a 379 contribution of £200,000 to the general costs of the tour has been promised by the Government of Australia.