MR. FELL PEASE (York, N.R., Cleveland)asked the Surveyor General of the Ordnance, Whether the figures in Mr. Burdett's letters, published in The Times of 3rd and 31st January and 24th February, are correct; whether the Return of Guns, dated 12th May, 1884, includes "the number, value, and description of guns manufactured and supplied" by the War Department to The Navy during the years 1877–84, inclusive, or merely the expenditure for naval use; and, could he state what is the money value of the machine-guns included in the total of £1,114,504, and taken credit for yearly in the War Office Estimates during the years 1877–84?
§ THE SURVEYOR GENERAL (Mr. NORTHCOTE) (Exeter)The figures are quoted from Parliamentary Papers, and are, therefore, correct, although, as previously stated, they do not refer to the same class of subjects. The Return of Guns, dated May, 1884, relates to expenditure on new iron and steel guns for naval use. The money value of machine-guns, included in the total of £1,114,504, is £234,349.