§ MR. ARNOLD-FORSTER (Belfast, W.)I beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty whether, in view of the sums of money already spent, and of the still larger sums to be expended in the installation of Belleville boilers in Her Majesty's ships, he will now furnish a full account of the performance of all ships fitted with these boilers.
MR. GOSCHENMany statements have been made to Parliament as to the performances of Her Majesty's ships fitted with Belleville boilers, and I desire to keep Parliament fully informed on the subject. Accordingly, I propose, when Vote 8 comes on, to make a very full statement, a course which I hope will be satisfactory to the hon. Gentleman. It is, however, quite impossible to furnish a full account of the performances of all ships fitted with these boilers, as the performance of the boilers only could not be separated in any Return from that of every detail of the machinery, and the preparation of such a Return would entail great labour upon a Department already overwhelmed with work, and also fail to present a true reflection of the situation, as, I presume, is desired by the hon. Gentleman.
MR. GIBSON BOWLES (Lynn Regis)Will the right hon. Gentleman also on that occasion furnish an account of the vessels fitted with water-tube boilers of types other than the Belleville type?