§ MR. MAURICE HEALY (Cork)asked the First Lord of the Admiralty, How many troopships at present have Catholic chaplains; whether it is the practice on board any of Her Majesty's ships for Catholics to attend the Service of the Protestant chaplains on Sundays, in cases when they have no opportunity of attending Mass on shore; whether, in cases where no Catholic chaplain is available, and the ships are not in port, prayers are read for the Catholics on board by a Catholic officer; whether it is still the case, as declared by the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, on the 27th March 1882, that there is no difficulty in providing accommodation for Catholic chaplains on board troopships; and whether, if so, seeing that the Channel Fleet is frequently not in port on Sundays, there is anything to prevent arrangements being made for a Catholic chaplain to accompany the Squadron, in conformity with the Admiralty Minute of the 7th June 1878; and, whether, if the Minute in question does not cover the case of the Channel Fleet, there would be any objection to extending its terms by a new Minute?
§ THE FIRST LORD (Lord GEORGE HAMILTON) (Middlesex, Ealing)None of the troopships bear Roman Catholic chaplains as "part complement." Their embarkation on each voyage is contingent on the number of Catholic soldiers taking passage; but, as a matter of fact, a Roman Catholic chaplain was embarked on each voyage of the Indian troopships last season. As stated in my reply of Friday last, it is not the practice for Roman Catholics on board Her Majesty's ships to attend the service of the Protestant chaplain. Prayers are frequently read to Catholics on board by Catholic officers. It is still the case that accommodation can be found for Catholic chaplains in troopships; but they are specially built to afford accommodation, which is not the case with fighting ships. The Channel Squadron is seldom long absent from ports where the services of a Roman Catholic priest cannot be obtained, and therefore the Minute of 1878 has not been applied hitherto to that squadron. I am anxious to facilitate, as far as I can, sailors in Her Majesty's Navy of all denominations obtaining, 1324 when at sea, the religious ministrations to which they have been accustomed; and any reasonable proposals having that object in view and coming from authorized quarters would be carefully considered. If the Channel Squadron were to be ordered on a cruise entailing a long absence from ports the Minute of 1878 would be applicable to such a case.