MR. SULLIVANasked the First Lord of the Admiralty, Whether he can state the actual or approximate number of Officers, Seamen, and Marines professing the Catholic religion now serving in Her Majesty's Navy; whether Catholics so serving in the Royal Navy are afforded, equally with their Protestant brother officers and messmates, the ministrations on shipboard of a chaplain of their own faith; and, whether it is the present intention of Her Majesty's Government, if no such provision now exists, by the appointment of Catholic chaplains in the Fleet, to insure for Catholics who may belong to the Navy the spiritual ministrations of a chaplain, such as are already accorded to Catholics serving in the Army?
§ MR. W. H. SMITHA good deal of the information which the hon. and learned Member asks for is to be found in a Return for the year 1876, No. 132, which was presented to the House on the Motion of the hon. Member for Car-low. I will state, as nearly as possible, the number of sailors and marines who are Catholics. We have no record of the number of officers serving in the 1733 Navy who are of that faith. The number of seamen and marines -who are Catholics is 5,350; the number of members of the Church of England is 33,172; Presbyterians, 1,748; and Protestants of other denominations, 4,162. There are no Roman Catholic chaplains in Her Majesty's ships afloat, nor any other chaplains than those of the Church of England; but at all the chief naval ports there are Roman Catholic chaplains who are paid by the Admiralty, and have free access to the seamen of that faith on board Her Majesty's ships. Every facility is afforded to Roman Catholic seamen or marines to attend Divine Service at the several naval ports; but I cannot hold out any prospect of the appointment of Roman Catholic chaplains to ships of war, as I am afraid, there is no accommodation for them.