§ CAPTAIN PRICE (Devonport)I beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty whether it is true that the Admiralty propose to increase the number of Lieu- 643 tenants; and, if so, whether he will consider the advisability of giving a certain number of Lieutenant's Commissions to warrant officers who may be able to qualify for the rank?
§ LORD G. HAMILTONIn reply to my hon. Friend, I may remind him that it takes about 8 to 10 years to make a Lieutenant from the time he enters the Britannia to the time he passes his final qualifying examination. The want of Lieutenants now is due to short entries made during the years 1880 to 1885. Since then the entries have been increased about 40 per cent., but the Lieutenants' List will not increase for some years to come, though the Sub-Lieutenants' List will begin to swell next year. I am not prepared to promote officers to the rank of Lieutenant except for war service, or other specially meritorious service.