§ MR. FIRBANK (Hull, E.)I beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty if Russian naval experiments have yielded good results with' briquettes instead of coal; is there a dense objectionable smoke emitted by the fuel; and is an Admiralty Committee now investigating the entire question of patent fuel, and when will its labours be concluded?
§ THE FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTYThe results obtained on the trials of Russian vessels are not authoritatively known. Some kinds of briquette fuel emit dense smoke; other kinds emit comparatively little smoke. A Departmental Committee is making inquiry into the qualities of various kinds of briquette fuel, but no date can be stated when the investigation will be concluded, as exhaustive trials are contemplated.