§ SIR EDWARD WATKIN (Hythe)I beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty if his attention has been called to a paragraph in the Times of 25th November, as follows:—
By order of the Admiralty, the British Naval Hospital will be sold by auction on the 27th instant. The property has a frontage of 70 métres, and occupies one of the finest sites in Lisbon;and whether the statement is true; and, if so, by what authority the Admiralty sells a property, the cost of which has been voted by Parliament, without the sanction of Parliament?
§ LORD G. HAMILTONThe state-statement is correct. For years past the maintenance of this hospital and its establishment have been of little or no benefit to the Navy, and therefore it was decided to close the hospital, sell the building, and transfer the establishment to Gibraltar, where it is much wanted. No special authority of Parliament is necessary for the disposal of surplus Government property of this character.