§ MR. H. BAILLIEsaid, he rose to ask the Under Secretary of State for War, Whether any batteries of the present service pattern of twelve-pounder Armstrong field-guns, as reconstructed and shortened since May, 1863, have been subjected to the hundred shotted rounds of continuous rapid fire, such as disabled six out of twelve guns of the previous pattern at Shorncliffe in 1862, and caused the above reconstruction; and, if any gun of the present pattern, with an inner tube of steel or coiled iron, has stood one thousand shotted rounds of rapid fire; and, if so, whether he will lay the Report of these trials upon the table of the House?
THE MARQUESS OF HARTINGTONsaid, in reply, that the questions of the hon. Gentleman were calculated to some extent to mislead the House; because although the twelve-pounders had been shortened they had not been reconstructed, or, at any rate, no operation had been performed to justify the use of the term. The changes of pattern that had been made in these guns since 1863 had been for the most part extremely slight, and chiefly related to the mode of sighting the guns. The experiment which the hon. Member pointed out had not, as far as he (the Marquess of Hartington) was aware, been tried since the experiments at Shorncliffe in 1862. The experiment was unnecessary, because no failure of the twelve-pounder had been reported, and no complaints had been made, and because the gun so far had the entire confidence of the Artillery. As to the latter part of the question, 450 he was not aware that the particular experiment indicated by the hon. Member had been tried upon any gun of the present pattern. A great many experiments relating to the endurance of the Armstrong gun had been made. He might instance that the seven-inch breech-loading gun had been tried for endurance, one hundred rounds having been fired with 14lb. of powder, and 100 to 1,000 cylinders, increasing from 150lb. to 1,000lb., the gun being, at the conclusion of the firing, quite uninjured.
§ MR. H. BAILLIEAm I to understand that none of the Armstrong guns have had steel tubes put into them?
THE MARQUESS OF HARTINGTONI believe that some of the Armstrong guns have had steel tubes put into them.