§ MR. P. M'DONALD (Sligo, N.)asked the First Lord of the Admiralty, Whether his attention has been drawn to the statements in The Broad Arrow and Military Magazine, to the effect that the Belleisle, instead of being only six weeks absent from the Kingstown Station,
Is ordered to be out of the hands of the Dockyard Authorities by the 24th of May, in order to take part in the great Naval Review of the 20th of that month, and is then to proceed on a cruise that will necessitate her absence from Dublin Bay till August;and, whether the absence of the vessel will, therefore, be six months instead of six weeks, as previously stated; and, if so, whether the Belleisle will be replaced during the time on this important Station?
§ THE FIRST LORD (Lord GEORGE HAMILTON) (Middlesex, Ealing)I cannot be answerable for the statements published in The Broad Arrow, and can only repeat that the re-fit of the Belleisle will take six weeks. The annual cruise of the Reserve Squadron usually occupies another six weeks. There is no intention of replacing her with another ship while she is absent from her Station.