§ MR. GOURLEY (Sunderland)I beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty whether his attention has been called to the public trial of the Sims-Edison torpedo, made at Havre on Saturday last; if so, will he state the difference (if any) between this and the Brennan torpedo; whether it is true that the Sims-Edison torpedo can be steered in any course over two miles at the rate of 20 miles an hour, and that it is capable of cutting through any net, and also of destroying the heaviest ironclad; and if he intends having experiments made with it at Portsmouth or elsewhere?
§ THE FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY (Lord G. HAMILTON,) Middlesex, EalingThe Sims-Edison, like the Brennan, torpedo, is not of a type considered suitable for use by ships at sea, and no experiments with it will, therefore, be carried out by the Admiralty. The trials have been attended by officers acquainted with the Brennan torpedo, and 266 its capabilities, in comparison with that weapon, will doubtless be reported on and considered.