asked the First Lord of the Admiralty how many warrant shipwrights have been recommended for promotion on the ground of special services in the War and how many of these have in fact received promotion?

Four commissioned shipwrights and four teen warrant shipwrights have been specially recommended for promotion on the ground of special services in the War. Of these, one commissioned shipwright and six warrant shipwrights have been promoted. In addition, the names of two other commissioned shipwrights and six warrant shipwrights have been noted for early promotion. I might also add that seven officers of the shipwright branch have received the Distinguished Service Cross.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he is aware that the Admiralty ruling which defers the consideration of the advancement of naval ratings and Marines interned in Holland till after the close of the present War operates hardly on the men who would otherwise have received advancement; and will he consider whether he can modify this ruling and advance the men so interned, unless in any particular case good reason for refusing advancement is shown?

I would refer my hon. and learned Friend to the reply which I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Devonport yesterday, in which I stated that the question of the advancement of naval ratings and Marines who are prisoners of war was considered by the Admiralty early in the War, and it was decided that advancement must stand over until the end of the War. I think my hon. and learned Friend will agree that the principle governing the cases of interned men must reasonably be the same.

What is the reason for this ruling?

I do not know that I can give it. It is the War Office practice. I think the War Office is reviewing the matter. Whether any change of policy will be adopted I cannot say, but I will let the hon. and learned Gentleman know.

Does the right hon. Gentleman realise the hardship inflicted on long service men in the Navy by this ruling They will lose all the chance of preferment.

That is the ground on which the hon. and learned Gentleman calls my attention to the matter.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether precautions have been taken to, as far as possible prevent a recurrence of the events that led to the sinking of two ships in the convoy that left Falmouth on 26th December last?

Full inquiry has been made into this case. Whilst, of course, I cannot promise immunity from attack, I can assure my right hon. Friend that steps have been taken, arising out of certain incidents in this case, which, it is hoped, will prevent their recurrence.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether his attention has been called to the fact that there are a number of B Class men of the Royal Fleet Reserve who have qualified by age and service for the £50 bonus, and have not been paid; and will he forthwith issue instructions for the payment of the bonus, or state his reasons for refusing to do so?

Payment of the £50 gratuity is being made to men who are qualified by age and service for the award in all cases in which applications have been received. Instructions to for ward applications were issued in December last. If my hon. and learned Friend knows of any case in which there has been undue delay after application has been made, I shall be glad to have the facts from him and have inquiry made.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he is aware that if a man becomes an officer in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve or obtains a temporary commission in the Royal Marines and meets his death on the battlefield, his relatives receive no gratuity as in the case of the relatives of officers who enter the Army from the Territorials or after a course of cadet training; and whether he will consider the advisability of placing the two forces on the same footing in this respect?

I explained to my hon. Friend in the course of the Debate last night how this matter stood. The question is at present under discussion between the Admiralty and the Treasury.

asked the Secretary to the Admiralty whether he can now make any statement with regard to the disabilities under which the dependants of mercantile ratings serving under naval discipline suffer as compared with those of naval ratings

It has now been decided that every man is to be allowed to allot, as in the case of the Navy, from the Thursday following the date of his entry if he joins on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday, and otherwise from the Thursday week. The interval between the date of the man's entry into the Service and the date upon which his dependant receives any money will thus be appreciably cur tailed, provided the man authorises an allotment as soon as he joins.

It has also been decided to grant a gratuity of three weeks' pay on discharge to all men discharged medically unfit. This will not prejudice the men's claim to further compensation if, upon investigation, they are found to be entitled, but will serve to bridge over the period of investigation.

The possibility of arranging for advances to be made to the dependants of such men by local, committees, where the men's allotments are for some reason delayed or in suspense, is under consideration, and I am not at present in a position to make a definite statement upon this subject. But if my hon. and gallant Friend will put a question this day week—this is the only outstanding point—I may be able to give an answer.

Will the right hon. Gentleman make it clear that the gratuity he mentioned in the second part of the answer will be paid on the discharge of the man and that he will get it before he goes home?

:That is the purpose of it, and certainly it will be distributed in that way.

asked the Secretary to the Admiralty whether he will consider such pay of the junior commissioned ranks as will enable any suitable man from the lower deck to accept a commission and fittingly support his position from his own resources?

I may recall my hon. Friend's attention to the statement upon this point made yesterday by the First Lord, as follows:

"In order to meet to some extent the increased cost of living, increases of pay have been granted to the junior ranks of officers supplemented by allowances in respect of children. This has enabled us to consider still further the question of promotion from the lower deck, because it is hoped that in many cases it will remove the objection on financial grounds which might prevent men from the lower deck taking commissioned rank."

I can assure my hon. Friend that the question of promotion to commissioned rank from the lower deck continues to receive our closest attention, and that we fully appreciate the aspirations of the men and desire, as far as practicable, to meet them.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that at the age at which a lower-deck man receives his promotion he is usually married, and that the pay of the junior officer in the Service is not enough to keep a man with a wife and children?

That is true with regard to those of long service, but since July, 1912, we have introduced the Mate Scheme. This gives much younger men a chance of promotion, and I should be very glad to tell the House what has been done in this direction.

Is it right that there should be such a rate of pay for these officers that they are unable to marry, sup posing they are not married when they receive their promotion?

asked the Secretary to the Admiralty whether a communication has been received from the Rosyth Ratepayers' Association complaining of the high rents charged for the new houses erected in the district; whether he is aware that these houses compare unfavourably, both with regard to rent and accommodation, with the houses of Government employ és in the Crombie district close by; and what action the Admiralty intend to take to meet the complaint of their workmen at the naval base?

The communication referred to in the first part of my hon. Friend's question has been received, and is now under consideration by the Admiralty. A communication has been sent to the Local Government Board, Scotland, and also a report is being obtained from the local Admiralty officers at ROSYTH.

asked the Secretary to the Admiralty whether, in connection with naval prisoners in Germany, the Admiralty will undertake that the allowance for food and lodging shall not be less than 5s. a day, so that Royal Marine Light Infantry officers may be placed on the same footing as officers of equal rank paid by the War Office?

Under Treasury authority the allowance is granted to meet expenses actually incurred in respect of food and lodging within a limit of 5s. a day. Should the expenses fall below that figure, only the amount expended will be repaid.