§ MR. BAILLIE COCHRANEasked the First Lord of the Admiralty, Whether, as it appears that the "Eurydice" cannot be raised, it would not be better to place a buoy over the place where she lies, being some memorial of the gallant men who lost their lives while in the public service?
§ MR. W. H. SMITHSir, It is not considered to be impossible to raise the ship, and further attempts will be made to do so at the next spring tides, if the weather permits. Under these circumstances, it would be premature to consider the suggestion of my hon. Friend. I may say, however, that to place a buoy over the wreck permanently would be a serious obstruction to navigation.
§ Subsequently—
§ CAPTAIN PIMasked the First Lord of the Admiralty, Whether, as it appears that the "Eurydice" cannot be raised by the means at the disposal of the Admiralty, he would invite tenders from parties willing to contract with the Admiralty to raise and deliver the "Eurydice" afloat in Portsmouth harbour?
§ MR. W. H. SMITH, in reply, said, that as it was irregular to ask hypothetical Questions, so it was most inconvenient to answer them. The hon. and gallant Member, therefore, had better wait until he could put a direct Question. He might, however, say that he had no present intention of asking for tenders for this purpose, and although many suggestions had been made for raising the Eurydice, none had been based upon experience.
§ MR. D. JENKINSasked the First Lord of the Admiralty, When it is intended to hold a naval inquiry into the loss of Her Majesty's ship "Eurydice;" how it is proposed that the Court should be constituted; and, whether he has considered if it would be advantageous to the public service that one or two experts, other than officers in Her Majesty's Navy, should form part of that Court; and whether he can inform the House what weight of ballast was put on board when this ship was last 121 commissioned and of what it consisted; if the water in tanks or any portion of the other stores was relied upon to insure her stability; and, if so, what was the nature and weight of such stores?
§ MR. W. H. SMITHSir, a court martial in accordance with the Naval Discipline Act has been ordered to assemble to inquire into the loss of the Eurydice, and the meeting of the court is only deferred in expectation of obtaining some valuable evidence of the condition of the ship before she sunk. The law does not admit of experts being placed on the court, but the court has power to call before it any person whom in their judgment they think it desirable to give evidence. The weight of ballast was 30 tons of iron pig ballast, the same as she carried on all her former commissions. The last part of the second Question will be a subject of inquiry by the Court.