§ CAPTAIN PRICE (Devonport)asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty, Whether the Admiralty, as Trustees of Greenwich Hospital, have ever applied for a Government Grant in respect of the children educated at Greenwich Hospital School; and, if not, in what respect do its claims differ from those of other Endowed Schools?
§ THE CIVIL LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY (Mr. R. W. DUFF) (Banffshire)No application has been made for a Government grant. The boys are understood to be under training for the Navy, and there would therefore be difficulty in complying with the requirements of the Education Department.
§ CAPTAIN PRICEasked, Whether it is a fact that the Admiralty give a bonus of £25 to the boys' training ships in the Thames, and at Liverpool, for every boy entered in the Royal Navy from those Institutions; and, why they do not give the same for every boy entered from Greenwich School, where the training is far superior?
§ MR. R. W. DUFFThe bonus of £25 is given by the Admiralty in respect only of such boys from the mercantile training ships as are able to pass for first-class boys within six weeks of joining the Navy. There is a saving to the Crown by each of these boys being so far trained before he enters the Navy. In the case of Greenwich Hospital School, the boys when sent are not sufficiently advanced to enable them to pass for first-class. It is not considered that there is sufficient reason in these circumstances to ask the Treasury to sanction a grant, more especially as one of the objects of Greenwich Hospital is to encourage boys to adopt a seafaring life.