asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the number of officers and men at present required to man the cruisers of the Royal Navy; and what would be the number required if the cruiser force consisted only of 50 10,000-ton vessels of the present type?

The second part of this question is purely hypothetical, and bears no relation to facts. There is no intention of building so large a number of 10,000-ton cruisers and the answer would be more misleading than useful.