§ CAPTAIN PIRIE (Aberdeen, N.)I beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty if he could state to the House how many Officers of the Royal Navy, apart from the Royal Marines, are qualified as interpreters, and in what languages?
§ THE FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTYThirty-five naval officers are qualified as interpreters in European languages—namely, 1 Russian, 4 German, 21 French, 5 Spanish, 4 Italian; and 85 in Oriental languages—namely, 40 Hindustani, 9 Persian, 6 Arabic, 30 Swahili. One officer has recently passed provisionally in modern Greek.
§ CAPTAIN DONELANasked if any of the Officers were serving on British ships at Crete?
§ THE FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTYI have not looked into the names, but the last-mentioned Officer is there.
MR. GIBSON BOWLES (Lynn Regis)asked whether the large number who had qualified in Swahili had been duly examined by the Civil Service Commissioners? [Laughter.]
§ THE FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTYI am not sure that the Civil Service Commissioners would be the most competent authorities. [Renewed laughter.]