§ MR. BELLAIRSTo ask the Secretary to the Admiralty whether Captain Grogan, of H.M.S. "Donegal," was informed that he had been superseded in the command of his ship immediately prior to his trial by court martial; and, if so, whether there is any precedent for such action on the part of the Admiralty; and whether the Admiralty took into consideration the effect the decision would have on 215 the minds of the officers constituting the court.
(Answered by Mr. Edmund Robertson.) Captain Grogan was not superseded, but remained in command of the "Donegal" until the ship was paid off with a view to the necessary repairs being undertaken. It was not considered that the court would have been in any way biassed by the fact that Captain Grogan was not appointed to a new command while a charge of negligence was pending against him.