§ Mr. THORNEasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will inquire from British shipowners the number of ships that have been ordered by them from German shipbuilders; if he can state the names of the firms that have ordered these ships from Germany; the tonnage of each ship; and for what reason the orders were not placed in England?
§ Mr. RUNCIMANAs has been previously explained to the House, I regret that there is no action which I could take to secure that these orders should be placed in British rather than in foreign shipyards. I fear, therefore, that the inquiries suggested by the hon. Gentleman would lead to no useful result.