§ MR. WEIR (Ross and Cromarty)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War whether the Service is provided with some gun carriages so constructed as to carry not only the gun but a considerable supply of ammunition; if so, how long is it since this carriage was introduced, and how many such carriages have been provided for the Service; whether such carriage's are exclusively made for small machine guns, and whether cordite powder is specially used for these guns; whether, when the ammunition-box is wholly or nearly empty, the shake and jar during the movement of the carriage, arising from the diminished weight, are so great that they tend to produce displacement of the delicate parts of the mechanism of the gun; and whether, if such is the case, steps will be taken to obviate for the future the possibility of injury to the parts referred to, and derangement of the mechanism of the gun?
§ *MR. CAMPBELL-BANNERMANAbout 50 of the carriages referred to have been issued to Cavalry and Infantry since the year 1888. They are exclusively for small machine guns; and no complaint of the nature indicated in the question has been received. These carriages will be gradually replaced by others of a later pattern, carrying the Maxim gun.