§ DR. TANNERI beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty whether it is a fact that H.M.S. Shannon, which has been employed as a guardship in Bantry Bay, was recently sent to Plymouth for repairs to its deck; whether such repairs could have been efficiently, and with less cost, carried out at Passage West in Cork Harbour; and whether, in view of the great distress prevailing at Passage, any necessary repairs of ships of the Royal Navy stationed on the South Coast of Ireland, which could be effected satisfactorily and with economy, might be done in the Passage docks?
§ LORD G. HAMILTONThe Shannon has gone to Devonport for her annual refit, repairs, and stores, and the class of work required could not have been done by any private dockyard.