§ MR. BELLAIRS (Lynn Regis)I beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty with reference to the list of over 150 ships which were alleged to have been scrapped by a decision of the Admiralty in October, 1904, and the 155 names given in a Return issued to Parliament entitled Vessels struck off the List of Effective Ships of War, whether he will state how many of the 155 vessels were not on the list of effective ships of war at the time the previous Board of Admiralty, of which Lord Walter Kerr was First Sea Lord, came to an end; how many of the 155 vessels still appear in the Navy List now that over four years have elapsed; how many still appear in the current Return of Fleets (Great Britain and Foreign Countries); and how many are in commission in one capacity or another.
§ MR. McKENNAThe list to which my hon. friend refers is presumably that contained in Return No. 74 of 1905, which classifies the vessels in question under several headings, and implies that 2111 a large proportion of them were not intended to be "scrapped." Of the vessels contained in this list, there are now in sea-going commission, one third-class cruiser (the "Philomel"), three surveying vessels and six sloops and gunboats, of which five are for river Service on the China station. The vessels contained both in this list and in the current "Return of Fleets," are nine second-class cruisers, two third-class Cruisers, and one torpedo gunboat. The Navy List contains all vessels, effective and non-effective, which have not yet been sold, and I presume my hon. friend does not want a comparison which would throw no light on the question whether the classification of any vessel has been altered since 1905. As regards the question what ships were placed on the non-effective list before October, 1904, I would refer my hon. friend to a printed Answer given him in reply to his Question of 23rd October, 1906, which gives a nominal list for vessels of more than 4,000 tons. I do not think that the utility of giving also the names of vessels under 4,000 tons, is commensurate with the labour involved in obtaining it.