§ MR. STEWART MACLIVERasked the Surveyor General of the Ordnance, If the experiment at Woolwich, of making guns on the steel-wire system, has been tested; whether it has been made under the direction of the inventor, or by men unacquainted with its first principles; whether a 21-ton gun made at Elswick on this principle, though not in the best form, has proved to be more 469 powerful, by 30 per cent., than the 25-ton gun; and, whether it is intended to continue the manufacture of steel-wire guns by the Department?
§ MR. BRANDA howitzer of 10-inch calibre and a gun of 9.2-inch calibre, both partly constructed of steel wire, have been ordered for trial on the recommendation of the Ordnance Committee. The guns are being made under the orders of the responsible officers of the Department, who are thoroughly acquainted with the principles involved. The gun apparently referred to by the hon. Member in the third part of his inquiry, as having been made at Elswick, is about of equal power with the 25-ton gun of the Service. As regards future manufacture, this must entirely depend upon the results obtained in the experimental trials.