§ MR. HANDEL COSSHAM (Bristol, E.)asked the First Lord of the Admiralty, Whether it is true, as reported in the local Press, that the Lords of the Admiralty have forwarded a contribution towards the reconstruction of St. Saviour's Church, Dartmouth; whether it is true that this church is made use of by the chaplain, cadets, and crew of H.M.S. Britannia stationed at that port; whether the Lords of the Admiralty will persist in their refusal to contribute towards the lights and buoys of the harbour of Dartmouth which are made use of by Her Majesty's ships; and, whether their Lordships will contribute towards the necessary repairs of Nonconformist places of worship situated in the vicinity of Naval Establishments?
§ THE FIRST LORD (Lord GEORGE HAMILTON) (Middlesex, Ealing)It is true that the Board of Admiralty have recently contributed £25 towards the restoration of St. Saviour's Church, Dartmouth. The church is used regularly by some of the non-commissioned officers, petty officers, and men of the Britannia, and they are allowed free accommodation. In considering grants towards places of worship, no distinction is made by the Admiralty between the several recognized religious denominations, but the claims in each case are decided on its merits, The question of contributing towards the maintenance of the lights and buoys at Dartmouth has not been previously referred to the Admiralty; but it may be well to say that they have no responsibility for the maintenance of lights and buoys, except such as come within their jurisdiction under the Dockyard Ports Regulation Act.