§ COLONEL ANSTRUTHER (Suffolk, Woodbridge)I beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty whether, on the occasion of the collision between H.M.S. Malabar with the 4th Battalion Rifle Brigade on board, and the French steamer Erymanthe, on the 19th January last, there was sufficient boat accommodation to have served the 1,450 military passengers on board, in addition to the ship's company?
§ LORD G. HAMILTONIt is estimated that the number of boats, including collapsible boats and rafts, carried by the Malabar at the time of her collision with the Erymanthe would have been sufficient to accommodate 1,443 persons. Doubts having been expressed as to the suitability of the Mends Artillery raft for prompt use in emergency, the Admiralty have recently arranged with the India Office to replace it, in the case of the Indian troopships, by four boats capable of carrying 500 persons, or 150 more than the capacity of the raft.