§ MR. ERNEST BECKETT (York, N.R., Whitby)asked the First Lord of the Admiralty, Whether his attention has been given to the following statement by Lord Wolseley:—
I wish to repeat that an Army of 100,000 men, intended for the invasion of this country and the capture of London, could be transported across the Channel with the greatest possible case in a fleet the size of which was 150,000 or 170,000 gross tonnage;whether, in view of this positive statement, he still adheres to his previous declaration, that a Navy of 480,000 tons gross burden would be required to transport an Army of 100,000 men across the Channel; and, whether he will disclose the names of the authorities he consulted before making that declaration, so that the public may be in a position to know exactly how much weight is to be attached to it?
§ THE FIRST LORD (Lord GEORGE HAMILTON) (Middlesex, Ealing)I have nothing to add to my answer to a Question addressed to me on the 13th of June last, made in this House, as to the tonnage necessary to carry an Army of 100,000 men so equipped and horsed as to be able to disembark and move with the rapidity necessary to seize London by a surprise. This was the proposition I was considering. Before making that statement I consulted the Transport Department of the Admiralty, which for many years past has had the sole superintendence and arrangement of all marine transport both for the Navy and the Army.