§ THE EARL OF SELBORNEMy Lords, I beg to ask the noble Marquess the Question standing in my name on the Paper—namely whether a Court-Martial has been held, or whether it is intended to hold a Court-Martial, in the case of any of His Majesty's ships that have been lost during the present war, and, if so, which.
THE MARQUESS OF CREWEMy Lords, the Question which the noble Earl has placed on the Paper is one which the Admiralty tell me they consider to be of great importance, and they have not been able to-day to collect all the data which would enable them to reply to it. The noble Earl's Question is simple in itself, but there are questions of policy involved with reference to which it is desirable that the Admiralty should be fully informed as to the various precedents in the past. I have just heard from them that they expect to be in a position to answer the Question tomorrow if the noble Earl would like to put it down for that day. There is, I see, a somewhat important subject for discussion to-morrow—the Second Reading of the Defence of the Realm Consolidation Act (1914) Amendment Bill, standing in the name of Lord Parmoor. Therefore the noble Earl would perhaps prefer to put his Motion down for Tuesday in next week. But if he decides to place it on the Paper for to-morrow, I have no reason to suppose that the discussion of Lord Parmoor's Bill will keep us far into the night.
§ THE EARL OF SELBORNEI do not propose to initiate any debate either in asking the Question or on receiving the noble Marquess's answer, and therefore I will put the Question down for to-morrow.
§ House adjourned at twenty minutes before Six o'clock, till Tomorrow, half-past Ten o'clock.