The act did not meet its original total without further money: Parliament provided another £1.3 million in 1893 to complete equipment. Its wider economic and administrative results are judged more favorably. Whole-ship funding gave officials a clearer basis for comparing predicted and actual costs than the older practice of building in annual fragments. Combined naval and merchant demand strengthened production, while replacing stop-start construction made future cost and quality judgments easier.
Chapter · 2:32:55-2:34:19
The program overran but made ship costs more predictable
An additional £1.3 million was required, yet whole-ship contracting improved cost prediction and stimulated industrial production.