Fleet exercises exposed the cost of real readiness

Parliamentary critics demanded to know which ironclads needed repair or new boilers after Hornby's Evolutionary Squadron and how many ships remained ready for immediate commission. Their questions treated exercise wear as a loss of material readiness and emphasized the economy of keeping ships away from salt water. The Admiralty answered that the squadron remained generally serviceable and that other ships could be made ready quickly. Preserving hulls in harbour reduced expense, while a fleet that never exercised would be poorly prepared and likely to make costly mistakes in war.