§ SIR JOHN BENN (Devonport)To ask the Secretary to the Admiralty whether it is the practice of the Board of the Admiralty to review and 394 revise the findings of naval courts-martial; whether, in view of the nature of the sentence passed on the 26th instant on certain stokers at Portsmouth, he will give an assurance that, before confirmation of this sentence, the whole of the circumstances shall be considered; and whether the House will have an opportunity of discussing the matter before the end of the present session.
(Answered by Mr. Edmund Robertson.) The proceedings of all naval courts-martial are passed in review by the Judge Advocate of the Fleet and by the Board of Admiralty, and under Section 53 of the Naval Discipline Act the Admiralty have power to suspend, annul, or modify sentences passed by such courts. As I have already stated, when the findings of the courts-martial have been received and considered, an Admiralty Minute will be promulgated giving the decision of the Board in regard to the conduct of all concerned and to questions arising thereon.