§ MR. DUFF (Banffshire)I beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty whether his attention has been called to paragraph 16 of the Fourth Report of the Committee on Public Accounts, recording their opinion
That the present mode of administering the Naval Armaments Vote is not consistent with the provisions of the Exchequer and Audit Act;to the further fact that the Chancellor of the Exchequer gave an assurance to the said Committee (paragraph 14) that the irregularity complained of would be dealt with by an Inter-Departmental Committee, presided over by the Secretary to the Admiralty; and whether the Committee referred to have issued their Report; and, if so, whether there is any objection to lay the whole Report, or at any rate that portion of it dealing with the subject referred to, upon the Table of the House?
§ THE FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY (Lord G. HAMILTON, Middlesex, Ealing)The Committee have reported, and the War Office and Admiralty have taken such joint action as will enable the Admiralty to take charge, on April 1 of this year, of all Naval Ordnance Votes. The Committee's Report deals with both the quantity as well as the character of the stores to be transferred, and it would not be advisable to make it public.