SIR HENRY FLETCHER (Sussex, Lewes)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies—(1) is it intended to make any alteration in the arrangements connected with the Church of St. Paul, Valetta, built by the late Queen Dowager Adelaide for the vise of the Anglican community in Malta, which have existed for the last 50 years; (2) can the correspondence on this subject be laid upon the Table of the House; and (3) is there any truth in the report that this Church, as thus given by the late Queen Dowager, is now to be converted into a Military Chapel?
§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES (Mr. JOSEPH CHAMBERLAIN,) Birmingham, W.The Church of St. Paul, Valetta, which was built at the expense of the late Queen Adelaide for the use of the Protestant inhabitants of Malta and Her Majesty's Land and Sea Forces employed there, has hitherto been served by the Chaplain to the Government. Last year, in answer to an address from the Council of Government of Malta praying for the abolition of the salary of the Chaplain, the late Secretary of State said that when the office became vacant the question of its abolition would be considered; and subsequently he approved of a proposal made by the Governor, with the concurrence of the present Chaplain and of the Bishop of Gibraltar, that the present Chaplain should retire on a pension and that the office should thereupon be abolished provided that arrangements were made for protecting the interests of the non-military portion of the congregation of St. Paul's Church. The question of the arrangements to be made for that purpose on the abolition of the Chaplaincy are still under consideration. When the correspondence is complete, I will consider whether it can be laid. The answer to the third question is in the negative.