§ LORD ELCHOasked the Secretary of State for War, Whether the last Report of the Moncreiff Gun Carriages Committee so far differs from previous Reports that it specially refers to the general question of the expediency of introducing the Moncreiff system in place of the existing one; and, whether in that Report the Committee have strongly recommended that the designs of new work should be reconsidered with the view of applying the Moncreiff system to them on account of its greater efficiency and economy?
§ SIR HENRY STORKSI have on a previous occasion stated, in reply to my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for South Durham (Major Beaumont), that 895 the Report in question is one of a series which is at present incomplete. There is, however, no objection to my replying in general terms to the noble Lord's questions. With regard to the first, I must premise that in assuming that there are only two modes of mounting guns and of constructing batteries for their reception the noble Lord conveys an incorrect idea. There are several modes of mounting guns and of protecting them. They may be placed in casemates with or without iron shields, in open batteries with shields, or in open batteries without shields, with ordinary embrasures. They may also be mounted in the manner known technically as "en barbette," or on the protected barbette plan of Major Moncreiff. The choice of the mode of mounting and of protection to be adopted must be made according to the particular circumstances of each case. Subject to these observations, I may inform the noble Lord that the last Report of the Committee does differ from previous Reports, and does remark on the general question of adopting the Moncreiff gun carriage in certain cases in future works. In reply to the second question I may state that the Committee recommended that in case of new works or additions to existing works the designs should be specially considered with a view to the employment of the Moncreiff carriage. I need scarcely add that the applicability of the Moncreiff carriage to the particular circumstances of each case will be fully considered in the preparation of new projects.