§ MR. GOURLEYasked the First Lord of the Admiralty, If he intends this autumn to place as many of the seamen of the Naval Reserve as he can collect on board coast defence or other ironclad ships, for the purpose of being exercised in sea-going manœuvres in place of the present harbour and skeleton drill; and, further, to inquire how many torpedo boats, if any, he intends placing at the principal seaports of the United Kingdom for the purpose of instructing the men of the Coast Guard, Naval Reserve, and Coast Volunteers in the art of working them?
§ MR. HUNT,in reply, said, he had no power of placing Naval Reserve men on board sea-going ships, unless they volunteered for such service. It was not his intention to invite them this autumn so to volunteer, because the iron-clad ships in the Reserve had already been out for their annual cruise, and had completed it. With regard to the second Question, the defence of the commercial harbours was in the hands, not of the naval, but of the military authorities, and all the Admiralty had to do was to apply for the Votes necessary to enable them then to lay down torpedoes.