§ MR. ERNEST FLOWER (Bradford, W.)I beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty whether the 100,000 men which appear on the Estimates as being on the Active Service List, include the 6,300 men some of whom began service on the 1st April last, and all of whom will not have joined till the 1st April 1898; and whether, in addition, the 100,000 includes 7,932 persons included under Vote A, but are not available for manning services?
§ THE FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTYThe Question of the hon. Member conveys the erroneous suggestion that the Estimates state that 100,000 men were on the Active Service List. If the hon. Member turns to Vote A, he will see that the Reading gives the numbers of all ranks for whom provision is made, i.e., 100,050. This provision includes the necessary amount of pay for the 6,300 by which the numbers are to be increased during the course of the financial year. The hon. Member will also see that the same page of the Estimates clearly shows that of the 100,050, a certain number of men and boys would not be immediately available for sea service, being instructors or under training or performing administrative duties.