§ MR. WILLIAM ALLANOn behalf of Sir EDWARD GOURLEY, I beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he is aware that prior to the Nile expedition for the relief of the late General Gordon, the Naval and Military advisers of the Egyptian Government recommended that a flotilla of ironclad monitors, armed with quick-firing guns, should be built for the purpose of patrolling and holding the Nile as far as the Bahr Gazelle; and whether it is the intention of Her Majesty's Government to construct and dispatch in time for the next rising of the Nile craft of this description, and suitable for passing the rapids wholly or otherwise, for the purpose of assisting in the capture of Dongola, Berber, and Khartoum?
§ THE FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY (Mr. G. J. GOSCHEN, St. George's,) Hanover SquareThree stern-wheel protected steamers are now being built for the Egyptian Government for service on the Nile, and are to be delivered in the course of the next three months. They are specially designed for this service, and will have an armament of quick-firing guns.