HC Deb 01 July 1890 vol 346 cc458-9
MR. GOURLEY (Sunderland)

I beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty if he is aware that Commander Field is engaged in delivering lectures at some of our seaports regarding the pay and prospects of seamen in the Royal Navy for the purpose of obtaining an additional number of boys, and whether this is with the consent of the Admiralty; will he be good enough to state how the 4,514 lads specified in the Navy Estimates of last year are distributed, that is, how many are on board training brigs and how many otherwise afloat; how many of the 1,730 additional boys voted this year have been obtained; and whether any system is to be adopted whereby lads other than those trained on board the Britannia may compete for commissions?

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

Of the 4,514 boys specified in the Navy Estimates of last year, 1,892 are in the training ships and 96 in the brigs, the remainder being distributed in various capacities over the Fleet. The number of boys to be entered this year in excess of the numbers last year is 1,290. Of these, 727 have been entered since April 1, 1890. A few boys are already entered direct as midshipmen or cadets from the Worcester and Conway training ships.