§ MR. WILLIAM ALLAN (Gateshead)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty whether he can state what indicated horse-power is to be taken out of the engines of H.M.S. "Medusa," after being fitted with the eight Dürr water-tube boilers ordered from Germany, and what consumption of fuel is guaranteed per indicated horse-power over a full speed test of time equal to her bunker capacity of coal tons.
I beg also to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty if the repairs and alterations to the new Royal Yacht were the subject of a tabulated estimate, or have they been carried out without any estimate of ultimate cost; if the former, what was the amount of the estimate; if the latter, by whose orders was the work entered upon without the cost being known.
§ THE SECRETARY TO THE ADMIRALTY (Mr. ARNOLD-FORSTER, Belfast, W.)May I ask the hon. Member to postpone these questions till Thursday; and, at the same time, may I respectfully point out that it would be convenient if more notice could be given of questions such as these. The questions only appeared on the Paper this morning, and the House having met at two o'clock, the time was too short to give them that careful consideration which the questions of hon. Members so often deserve.
§ MR. WILLIAM ALLANDo not the officials of the Admiralty know well enough what the horse-power is?
§ *MR. SPEAKEROrder, order!