§ MR. GOURLEYasked the Secretary to the Admiralty, Whether the repairs of Her Majesty's Yacht, Victoria and Albert, have been completed; if so, will he inform the House the total amount expended upon the hull, engines, cabins, and general outfit; also the intended complement of officers and crew, together with the probable annual cost for wages, provisions, fuel, and other stores; and, if he can state how often, and in what service, the yacht is to be employed; also if it be connect that the Lords of the Admiralty have authorised a large sum to be expended in the erection of a special shed for the storage of coals for the Queen's yachts?
§ SIR THOMAS BRASSEYThe repairs to the Victoria and Albert will be completed in a fortnight. The original Estimate as stated to Parliament was £55,000; the actual cost will be £58,000. The chief items in the additional expenditure are alterations of the bridge, which were desirable for the safe navigation of the vessel, and an improved fire service. The complement of the yacht and tenders is 157, or, including 75 riggers, 282. The details of the annual cost were given to Parliament in a Return ordered by the House in 1883. 278 The net amount is £7,968. The crew are continuous service men, all of whom are available in time of war for the general service of the Navy. The full pay of the officers is the chief item in the extra net annual cost. No sum has been taken in the Estimates for a coal shed. It is impossible to state beforehand on what services the yacht may be employed.