§ MR. NICOL (Argyll)In the absence of the First Lord of the Admiralty I beg to ask the Financial Secretary a question of which I have given private notice, as to whether the attention of the Admiralty has been called to a statement in the public Press, that three cheers for the Boer Republics were given by the sailors of the German battleship "Deutschland," at Portsmouth, under the eyes of their own officers, and whether there is any confirmation of this statement.
§ THE SECRETARY TO THE ADMIRALTY (Mr. MACARTNEY,) Antrim, S.Yes, Sir, the attention of the First Lord of the Admiralty has been, called to the 35 statement contained in my hon. friend's question. He has caused inquiries to be made at Portsmouth, and as the result of those inquiries, he believes the report to be a pure fabrication without any foundation whatever.