§ MR. T. RICHARDSON (Hartlepool)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for War, whether his attention has been called to the Petition lodged by the Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough of Hartlepool, relating to the firing of the heavy gun at the Lighthouse Battery; and, what steps the authorities intend to take to relieve the residents in the neighbourhood from the serious damage caused by the firing of this gun?
§ * MR. BRODRICKThe question of the inconvenience to the inhabitants of Hartlepool caused by firing of the gun at the Lighthouse Battery has been, fully considered. It is absolutely essential that the gun should be fired annually in order to test its mounting. It is proposed, however, in the interest of the inhabitants of Hartlepool, to limit the firing to one full charge and one half charge on one day in the year when the wind is in a favourable quarter. This will reduce the inconvenience to the narrowest limits compatible with the efficient defence of the harbour.