Mr. SHIRLEY BENNasked the First Lord of the Admiralty if he will state the number of seamen and marines during the past ten months from whom good-conduct badges have been forfeited by the Navy on account of punishment by civil authorities, and also the number of cases where the forfeiture of such good-conduct badges has been remitted by the authority of the Commander-in-Chief?
§ Dr. MACNAMARAThe statement for which the hon. Member asks would involve the examination of a large number of punishment returns, and I regret that I cannot comply with the request in view of the clerical labour which the preparation of any statement of this sort would involve. As a result of further consideration of this matter, it has now been decided to revert to the former regulation, under which the captain may, at his discretion, deprive a man convicted by the civil power of one or more good conduct badges, subject to the approval of the Commander-in-Chief, instead of the existing regulation under which deprivation of a badge is obligatory unless remitted by the Commander-in-Chief.