CAPTAIN FABER (Hampshire, Andover)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty whether he can state the number of men now employed at each of the following places: Pembroke Dock, Portsmouth, Devonport, and Chatham, compared with the same date in 1905; and whether the staff at Devonport is sufficiently large to deal with the present naval requirements.
§ MR. EDMUND ROBERTSONThe numbers are as follows:—
| 1905 (22nd April). | 1907 (20th April). | |
| Portsmouth | 10,132 | 8,698 |
| Devonport | 8,926 | 7,901 |
| Chatham | 8,838 | 6,829 |
| Pembroke Dock | 2,735 | 1,972 |
§ The reductions since 1905 were practically completed before the present Board came into office. If the hon. Member's Question was suggested by an article which appeared in the Press on Monday, I desire to take this opportunity of stating emphatically that there is absolutely 864 no foundation for the report that Devonport Dockyard cannot cope with the work required of it; and I may add that the Admiral Superintendent wholly repudiates the statements attributed to him.