§ MR. D. JENKINSasked the First Lord of the Admiralty, Whether it is, as reported, true that an attempt which nearly proved successful has been lately made by some of the boys from the 1603 training ship "Lion" to sink Her Majesty's Ironclad "Caledonia," lying off Devonport, on board which ship they were temporarily berthed; if so, if he would explain to the House under what circumstances the act was committed; if not, what caused the ship to be in a sinking condition; if the boys have been in a state of insubordination on board the ship; and whether, seeing that more than one training-ship has been recently wilfully destroyed, it is not possible to find accommodation for them in hulks without risking the destruction of iron-clad ships which form part of the effective naval forces of the country?
§ MR. HUNTSir, I am happy to be able to inform the hon. Gentleman, in answer to the first part of his Question, that no attempt was made by any boys from the training ship Lion to sink the Caledonia, and no insubordination has been manifested by these boys. A certain amount of water came into the ship through an act of inadvertence on the part of an able seaman who had charge of the tank-room, and who turned the wrong lever. The water was soon pumped out, the ship was never in a sinking condition, and no damage was done. With respect to the second part, the Caledonia is placed upon the list of harbour ships, and does not form part of the naval forces of the country available for service.