§ 9. Mr. BARNSTONasked if cadets at Dartmouth College and the midshipmen in the training cruisers were distributed among the ships of the Fleet for active service at the outbreak of the War; if some of these lads have lost their lives; if under the regulations their parents are charged £50 a year; and will he see that in the future, while these lads are risking their lives for their country, the parents are not compelled to pay the Admiralty for the services of their sons?
§ Dr. MACNAMARAThe answer to the first three parts of the question is in the affirmative. As regards the last part, I may remind the hon. Gentleman that, as I stated in reply to the hon. Member for Cambridge on the 15th instant, in the case of the private allowance payable on behalf of midshipmen, the Board of Admiralty is prepared to give favourable consideration to applications for whole or partial relief where real necessity exists; and, further, that in the case of midshipmen killed on active service, any sums deopsited in advance in respect of a period subsequent to the date of death are returned to the guardians upon the closing of the private allowance accounts of the officers concerned.