§ MR. REGINALD LUCAS (Portsmouth)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty whether his attention has been directed to the fact that at their recent prize-firing competitions H.M.S. "Empress of India" scored 11 hits for 69 rounds fired, and H.M.S. "Formidable" 1 for 27; and whether he can explain these results.
§ THE SECRETARY TO THE ADMIRALTY (Mr. ARNOLD-FORSTER,) Belfast, W.As I stated in an answer to the hon. Member for Caithness in December last, the attention of the Admiralty was called to the unsatisfactory nature of the prize firing in the "Empress of India." Attention has been called to the results on the "Formidable," which are also unsatisfactory, and special enquiry is being made into the circumstances in this case with a view to ascertaining the cause of the defective shooting, and whether it is in any degree attributable to defects in the gun sights.