§ MR. H. A. HERBERTsaid, he would beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty, Whether it is true that the water from the tanks belonging to the Dockyards was refused on economic grounds to certain persons who organized a soup kitchen inside the Unicorn Gate, Portsmouth (at their own expense), for the purpose of relieving distress during the recent inclement weather; and, if true, whether the order will be rescinded?
§ MR. CHILDERSSir, I must congratulate some of the good people of Portsmouth on their ingenuity in fabricating stories about petty economies in the dockyards. Some time ago they had invented an army of cats, whose 724 food we had cut off; then we abolished a fabulous ratcatcher; now we refuse water to soup kitchens. These stories, I need not say, are equally unfounded. The fact as to the soup kitchen is that some weeks ago a subscription was got up, to which some addition was made by ourselves at Whitehall, for establishing a soup kitchen in a distressed part of Portsmouth, some way from the dockyard and near the extension works. We authorized a "ship's copper" being lent to them, and the superintendent allowed them to have water sent from the Government tanks. One day last week, I believe, a question arose about a dockyard labourer employed for this purpose, and for a few hours the water was not sent. As soon as it came to the ears of the authorities the matter was set right, and the water obtained without further trouble.