§ 19. Mr. R. YOUNGasked the First Lord of the Admiralty how many engine-room artificer apprentices from His Majesty's Ship "Fisgard" are going to Chatham to complete their training; whether, as in this training it has been the practice to utilise as instructors in practical engineering chief and engine-room artificers, and as now orders have been issued that instructions have to be given by dockyard employés, he will say what is the reason for this change; and is it likely to decrease expenditure in the cost of training?
Mr. DAVIDSONAbout 120 artificer apprentices will be transferred to Chatham in the first instance. As the workshops of the Mechanical Training Establishment at Chatham are in the dockyard, and the apprentices will do much of their work in the dockyard shops, it will be more convenient that the practical instruction should be provided from the dockyard. It is anticipated that the change will ultimately result in a small saving, but efficiency and convenience, and not economy, were the primary reasons for it.