§ MR. BELLAIRS (Lynn Regis)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty whether, during the last eighteen months, the usual sums of money required for the maintenance of the following vessels have been spent, viz., "Anson," "Howe," "Benbow," "Camperdown," and "Rodney," officially classed as first-class battleships, "Colossus," "Edinburgh," "Thunderer," and "Devastation," second-class battleships," "Hero," and "Conqueror," third-class battleships; whether 949 these eleven battleships were not all omitted from the list of ships of the Royal Navy, on page 270c, at one time; and, if so, whether he can state the reason for including them again.
§ THE SECRETARY TO THE ADMIRALTY (Mr. EDMUND ROBERTSON,) DundeeOne of these battleships is in commission as a gunnery training ship, and is the only one which has required any considerable sum for maintenance during the past eighteen months. Eight of the ships are in special reserve and have cost very little to maintain. Two are lying at the Holy Loch and have cost nothing beyond the expense of caretakers. All eleven are on the verge of becoming obsolete, and it is therefore a matter of choice whether or not they should be included in a list which is meant for general information and does not profess to contain any detailed classification. It has been considered on the whole preferable that they should be included for the present until they are finally removed from the list of the Navy.