HC Deb 29 April 1890 vol 343 cc1638-9
MR. GOURLEY (Sunderland)

I beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty whether it is true that Admiral Hoskins, prior to taking over the command in the Mediterranean, caused alterations to be made in his own private cabins of H.M.S. Victoria, at an extra cost of £2,000, and that Lord Walter Kerr has had similar alterations made on board the Trafalgar, at an increased cost of £4,000; and whether, if true, these alterations were sanctioned by the Admiralty?

THE FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY (Lord G. HAMILTON,) Middlesex, Ealing

The statements to which the hon. Gentleman calls my attention are both untrue. No alterations were made in the admiral's private cabins on board the Victoria; but this ship, as is customary with flagships of a high freeboard, was when selected to carry the flag of the commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean fitted with a stern walk, at a cost of £593. No alterations have been made in the admiral's cabin on board the Trafalgar since 1887, when a re-arrange- ment of the bulkheads was carried out, while the ship was in course of construction, in consequence of a representation from the Admiral Superintendent of Portsmouth Dockyard, that the cabins as designed were inadequate. This change entailed but little cost. It has been recently found that in the case of all low-freeboard ships, such as the Trafalgar, a cabin for the captain and admiral is required on the upper deck in immediate proximity to the bridge. The Trafalgar, therefore, in common with ships of her class, has been so fitted at a cost of £69 for each cabin.

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