§ SIR A. FORWOOD (Lancashire, Ormskirk)I beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty if, in the proposed coal consumption trials of the new cruisers, he will give instructions that the quantity of coal used by such auxiliary engines as are necessary to the working of the main engines shall be included as a part of the expenditure of the latter; also that the coal supplied shall be the ordinary screened Welsh coal used for normal sea purposes, and that the power in the boilers used for the test shall be the maximum of their design, and be kept in continuous work without change from one element to another?
§ THE FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY(1) It is the practice on Navy contract trials to include the coal consumption of all the auxiliary engines as a part of the expenditure of the main engines. (2) In the trials of the Diadem and Terrible the coal supplied will be the ordinary screened Welsh coal, used for normal sea purposes. (3) During the series of 60 hour trials of the Diadem about to be carried out there will be one at the hill sea-going continuous power when all the boilers will be in use. No pledge can be given to the other trials, but these will be carried out in the same manner as with tank boilers. The right honourable Gentleman must be well aware that tests at maximum powers are not usually carried out for longer periods than are specified in the contracts. In the Diadem and Europa, however, a special trial was carried out in each ship of 30 hours' duration, at full continuous sea-going power, using three stokeholes only out of four, or 78 per cent. of the boiler capacity, and in these cases the boilers were not changed during the trials, and as the sea-going power is three-quarters of the maximum this was all but the maximum power of the boilers in use.