§ MR. FENWICK (Northumberland, Wansbeck)I beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty will he explain why armourers and blacksmiths are not eligible in accordance with the Queen's Regulations to become engine-room artificers; and whether a blacksmith serving in the Royal Navy, and borne on the books of one of Her Majesty's ships at Devonport, has recently been examined with a view to his being appointed as an acting engine-room artificer; if so, will he state what was the result of the examination?
§ THE SECRETARY TO THE ADMIRALTY (Mr. MACARTNEY, Antrim, S.)Engine-room artificers must be competent workmen of the following trades:—Engine-fitters, copper smiths, boilermakers, and, in a few cases, engine smiths. Preference is given to engine-fitters who are also turners. Armourers and blacksmiths are therefore ineligible as they do not possess the necessary trade qualifications. A blacksmith serving in the "Colossus" was however, as an exceptional case, permitted to present himself for examination as engine smith (one of the qualified trades) with a view to entry as engine-room artificer, but failed to pass the examination.