MR. H. F. PEASE (York, N.R., Cleveland)asked the Secretary of State for War, with reference to the War Office Official Statement, which appeared in The Times and other papers on the 1st of January last, denying that some hundreds of thousands of pounds have 1139 been voted for guns for the Navy and spent by the War Office, but that no guns have boon supplied to the Fleet in consequence, Whether his attention has been called to Mr. Burdett's letters, published in The Times on the 3rd and 31st of January and the 24th of February, showing a total money deficiency of £635,735, and also year by year the ordnance actually manufactured and supplied by the War Department to the Navy, compared with the estimated value of guns, iron and steel, taken credit for yearly issue from store in the War Office Estimates for 1877–8 to 1883–4; and, whether these figures are correct?
§ THE SURVEYOR GENERAL OF ORDNANCE (Mr. NORTHCOTE) (Exeter)(who replied) said: The two Returns quoted in the Correspondence to which my attention has been called do not refer to the same class of subjects. The one dated May 12, 1884, includes only expenditure on certain new guns manufactured for naval use; while the other, which is taken from the annual Estimates, represents the value of guns to be issued from store. Morover, machine guns are included in the latter case, while they are not included in the Return of 1881.