§ MR. KEARLEY (Devonport)I beg to ask the Civil Lord of the Admiralty whether he has noticed the letter in yesterday's Times, in which Miss Weston, "the sailor's friend," points out that the cost of administering the various funds in the hands of the Patriotic Commission averages 13s. 8d. per head per annum, whilst the Serpent fund, administered by the Soldiers' and Sailors' Families' Association, amounts to only 6d. per head; whether the Admiralty will have any control over the administration of the fund which is being collected at the Mansion House and elsewhere on behalf of those who perished in H.M.S. Victoria; and whether, in view of the heavy demands which must fall on this fund, the Admiralty will undertake to administer it free of all costs whatsoever?
§ THE CIVIL LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY (Mr. E. ROBERTSON, Dundee)I have read the letter referred to by my hon. Friend. The Admiralty have no control over relief funds other than those of Greenwich Hospital. The Admiralty, however, are anxious to render every assistance in their power to those entrusted with the administration of the relief funds collected by public subscription. The authorities of Greenwich Hospital are already engaged in obtaining complete information as to numbers, names, and circumstances of the widows and orphans of the men who were lost in the Victoria, and this and all other available information will be readily placed at the disposal of the Trustees.