§ MR. W. THORNE (West Ham, S.)I beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty if his attention has been called to the order posted up in His Majesty's dockyard, Devonport, viz., all men seeking entry must be out of employment at the time, preference to be given to men who have served in the yard before, but out of employment; and if he is aware that the officials at the dockyard have been entering men who were in employment at the time of entry; and whether he intends taking any action in the matter.
§ THE FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY (MR. MCKENNA,) Monmouthshire, N.The conditions set out on the notice to which the hon. Member refers, are in accordance with recent Admiralty instructions relative to these special entries of workmen in His Majesty's dockyards. Every care has been taken to exclude men already in employment, and so far as is known, none but men actually unemployed have been entered, except one joiner, who was under notice of discharge by his employer when he applied for work. One man who was in evening employment was also entered in ignorance of the fact, and directly it was discovered, he took his own discharge. Ten men who were skilled mechanics employed as labourers have been rated as mechanics, namely, eight smiths and two plumbers, and their places filled by men entered as labourers.