§ LORD LOVAINE,in rising to put the question which he had intended to have asked, had he caught the Speaker's eye when the right hon. Gentleman the Secretary at War spoke on the same subject, said, it appeared to him rather extraordinary—[Cries of "Order!"] Well, without saying more, he would put this question,—whether the steamers taken up for the conveyance of Her Majesty's troops to the East were not engaged exclusively for the accommodation of those troops, thereby precluding any person from being put on board without the authority of the Government, or of some individual to whom the 1227 authority of the Government was delegated; and whether the circumstances were known to the Board of Admiralty under which the person who reported to the Times newspaper the condition of the troops landed at Gallipoli appeared to have obtained a passage on board such steamers from England to Malta, and from Malta to Gallipoli?
§ MR. BERNAL OSBORNESir, in reply to the question of the noble Lord, I beg to inform him that the steamers taken up for the conveyance of Her Majesty's troops, having complied with the regulations for taking those troops, the Board of Admiralty do not feel themselves called on, as part of their duty, to inquire whether other persons have been taken. At the same time I beg, for the satisfaction of the noble Lord, to inform him that the Board of Admiralty have no official cognisance of the reporter of the Times or of any other newspaper being conveyed in these transports. But as the question is rather lengthy, I have, from a feeling of personal courtesy towards the noble Lord, made inquiries on the subject, and I find that the steamer from England to Malta did not convey this gentleman. Whether the steamer from Malta to Gallipoli did convey this gentleman—who, I am ready to admit from my knowledge, subsequent to the notice of question, would be from his position and education an excellent companion on board ship—I am not in a condition to state; but in consequence of his position, acquirements, and general knowledge, I have no doubt he did get a passage, but who gave it the Board of Admiralty is not aware.