§ MAJOR ARBUTHNOTasked the First Lord of the Admiralty, Why the recent relief of troops in North America and the West Indies was carried out at seasons interdicted by the Queen's Regulations, paragraph 1172; whether this contravention of the order regulating reliefs might not have been avoided by sending Her Majesty's ship "Tamar" to North America, and Her Majesty's ship "Himalaya" to the West Indies; and, whether he can state the lowest point, as recorded in the ships logs, at which the thermometer stood during the outward voyage of the "Himalaya" and the homeward voyage of the "Tamar?"
§ MR. GOSCHEN,in reply, said, the Regulations provided how reliefs should be carried out as far as practicable, but there was no absolute direction. No doubt the War Office and the Admiralty had endeavoured to carry out the system as indicated in the Regulations. In the present case the reliefs could not be carried out in the manner suggested by the hon. and gallant Gentleman, because the Tamar had only just taken out troops to the West Indies and Bermuda, and she arrived so late that it was impossible for her to make the return voyage in time. The Himalaya came from the Cape, and during her passage encountered very rough weather, which occasioned her some damages which it was necessary to repair, and that caused some delay. In going out, too, she encountered particularly bad weather. The lowest point at which the thermometer stood during the outward voyage of the Himalaya was twenty-three degrees, near Halifax. He was not able to give the state of the thermometer in the case of the Tamar.