§ Mr. WILKIEasked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether a large shipping company have made an offer to the Admiralty for the building of two liners at Portsmouth Dockyard at the same price as Would be paid in private yards; whether the Admiralty have refused this offer owing to the lack of space; and whether he will reconsider this matter with a view to keeping the men at the dockyard fully employed?
§ Mr. LONGAn offer was received from Messrs. Cayzer, Irvine and Company to place an order for the building of two merchant ships at Portsmouth at the same price as would be paid in private yards. The Admiralty were not able to accept this offer, as there was no building slip2416W available at Portsmouth, and the men of the constructive trades at that yard were already fully employed. As pointed out in my statement accompanying the Navy Estimates, no building slip will be available at Portsmouth until late in the year; but the question whether, a dock can be utilised for building a mercantile ship earlier in the year is under consideration. As also indicated in my statement, the shortage of shipwrights and allied trades, as compared with men of the engineering trades and unskilled labour—which shortage is, I am informed, not confined to the royal yards, but is very general—is the limiting factor in the application of the policy of undertaking, mercantile shipbuilding in the dockyards, and explains why, even when this policy has been adopted to the fullest extent possible, discharges must still be made.