§ MR. HANBURYI beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty whether the Victoria is to be commissioned next month; whether the 110-ton guns have been strengthened to the satisfaction of the Admiralty; and, if so, whether orders have been given that they are not to be fired with the full charge; and what are the precise orders upon that point; and whether the Government will institute an independent inquiry into the utility and efficiency of these monster guns?
§ LORD G. HAMILTONThe Victoria is to be commissioned next mouth. The two 110-ton guns of the Victoria have been strengthened to the satisfaction of the Ordnance Committee. No orders have been, or will be, given that they are not to be fired with the full or maximum charge. Only three ships in the Navy are armed, or are proposed to be armed, with these guns. The precise orders as regards practice are laid down in Regulations issued in July, 1888. The utility and efficiency of these heavy guns is so undoubted that there is no intention of instituting any further inquiry into the subject. In an official letter just received, dated February 5, 1890, the captain of the Benbow reports that—
The 110-ton guns mounted in that ship do not show the slightest sign of any weakness in their construction, and the officers and men have complete confidence in them.