I beg to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty, having regard to the fact that at the naval ports there is a deficiency in the naval shipwright ratings, and seeing that the present pay is inferior to the rate of wages in the dockyards or private shipbuilding firms, whether he can state what additional inducements, if any, are being offered to obtain shipwrights.

No additional inducements are being offered. A large number of boys are being trained in H.M. dockyards to serve as shipwrights in the Fleet, a plan which, in the opinion of the Admiralty, will enable them to obtain all the shipwrights they require.