§ MR. CORRIE GRANT (Warwickshire, Rugby)To ask the Secretary to the Admiralty whether his attention has been called to the fact that cadets on the "Britannia" training ship are for any offences strapped down and beaten with a cane; will he state by whom this punishment is ordered and administered, and in whose presence, and for what offences; also is solitary confinement inflicted; and, if so, to what extent, and for what offences.
(Answer.) The corporal punishment of cadets in the "Britannia," which consists of caning as ordinarily practised in public schools, rests with the Commanding Officer. It is inflicted on rare occasions, at the discretion of the Commanding Officer, for serious offences such as the use of obscene language, or grave insubordination. The punishment invariably takes place in the presence of the Executive Officerand Medical Officer of the ship. For similar grave offences, or for serious cases of untruthfulness, cadets are sometimes kept apart from other cadets, but not in solitary confinement as that term is generally understood. (Admiralty.)