MR. SCOURFIELDsaid, he would beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty, What foundation there is for a statement made in the House respecting the existence of any rock in Pembroke Reach, making the Dockyard inconvenient or unsuitable for the resort of large ships; and, whether in the work of rivetters, to which attention has been called, a stipulated amount of work must not be performed before any wages were paid?
§ MR. CHILDERSreplied that in the year 1862 the Prince Consort touched on a rock in Pembroke Reach, but the greater portion of that rock, the existence of which was till then unknown, had since been blown up. The remainder had been buoyed, and therefore there was now no rock in the reach which rendered Pembroke Dockyard inconvenient or unsuitable for the resort of large ships. With regard to the second question, he had to state that rivetters were partially paid on the piece-work system. If they did not execute a fair amount of work their wages were subject to abatement. In such an event an inquiry was held, and if the reasons assigned by the men for not having done more work were deemed unsatisfactory, a reduction was made.