§ MR. WOODALL (Hanley)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War for what reason it has been thought desirable to introduce Mark II. of the magazine rifle; and if he could state the cost of the rifle as compared with that of the Martini-Henry at similar stages of its production?
§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR WAR (Mr. E. STANHOPE, Lincolnshire, Horncastle)I explained very fully yesterday, in answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Horsham, the reasons why Mark II. has been introduced. The cost of the Martini-Henry rifle was, of course, high at first, but in the first year in which it was extensively made it was £3 18s. 4d., which sum, as the manufacture went on, was gradually reduced to £2 2s. 10d., neither price including any charge for the special machinery required. The price of the magazine rifle for the small number at first produced was £5 5s., but the estimated cost for the current year is £4, which includes a Sinking Fund calculated to pay for the necessary alteration of machinery in six years. This price was for Mark I.; Mark II. will probably cost a trifle less, and it may be anticipated that the charge will decrease as the manufacture proceeds, as it did in the case of the Martini-Henry. In this comparison allowance ought to be made for the 649 facts that wages have increased and hours of labour been shortened since the Martini-Henry rifle was first turned out.