§ MR. GRAVESsaid, he would beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty, The names of the ships at present available in the reserves for immediate service?
§ SIR JOHN PAKINGTONMy hon. Friend will, I trust, excuse me if I do not give him the names of these ships, but I am sorry to say that if I did so the list would be a very short one. I regret to state I find the reserves by no means in a satisfactory condition, or, indeed, in such a state as I had a right to find them —so much so that the Admiralty have great difficulty in finding relief for the ships that return from foreign service.