§ MR. GOURLEY (Sunderland)I beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty whether it is correct that, when under trial, one of the 110-ton guns of the Sans Pareil was hopelessly disabled, after firing the third round with reduced charges; if so, can he state the cause; and whether, seeing that other similar big guns on the Victoria and Benbow have proved failures, it is intended to abandon guns of this calibre, or replace them with Krupp guns similar in type to those supplied to the Italian Government, and which have already stood a test of 200 rounds without the slightest indication of any defect whatever?
§ THE FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY (Lord G. HAMILTON, Middlesex, Ealing)It is not true that one of the 1516 110-ton guns of the Sans Pareil was hopelessly disabled after firing the third round with reduced charges, as the gun has since fired six rounds with maximum service charges. The gun in question is still under proof, and has not been as yet accepted into the Service. The other guns of this calibre in the Victoria and Benbow have not proved failures, and it is not intended to abandon guns of this calibre, or replace them with Krupp guns similar in type in the three ships in which these guns are mounted. The information which has reached me gives a very different account of the performance of the Krupp gun to the statement of the hon. Gentleman.