§ MR. JOYCE (Limerick)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty whether he is aware that a cargo of flour has been landed from England at Castle town Berehaven for the use of that portion of the Fleet manœuvring on the Irish coast will he say if any difficulty has been experienced at any time in getting a sufficient supply of flour from Irish firms for the use of the ships on the coast of Ireland; has any flour been brought from Ireland to English ports for the use of the Fleet; and whether, in view of the effect of this action on the Irish milling trade, steps will be taken to stop any further importation of flour from England to Ireland for the use of the Navy.
§ MR. EDMUND ROBERTSONA cargo of flour was recently landed at Berehaven from Deptford for the use of the Atlantic Fleet. The circumstances were exceptional, as the flour had been purchased in England for use at Gibraltar, it being understood that the ships would need to replenish before leaving for Home waters. Later on, however, the Admiral reported that it would be more convenient for the ships not to fill up until they reached Berehaven, but in the circumstances it was necessary to utilise the flour already available, as considerable expense to the Crown would have resulted from purchasing a duplicate quantity from Irish millers. In regard to the second point, our experience does not lead us to suppose there would be any difficulty in obtaining supplies of flour, in ordinary circumstances, from Irish firms to meet the requirements of ships on the coast of Ireland. In regard to the third point, I do not know of any such case, but if any Irish firms desire to tender for the requirements in this country, viz., at Deptford, Portsmouth, and Plymouth, they will be given opportunities of doing so. In regard to the last point, the circumstances in the present case were exceptional and are not likely to recur. In ordinary cases it is obviously more advantageous from every point of view to meet the requirements of the ships as far as possible from local resources, and this course will be followed.