§ MR. BROADHURST (Leicester)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that the City of London First Volunteer Artillery Regiment is still drilled with muzzle-loading guns; and, if so, whether he will endeavour to supply them with more modern weapons.
§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR WAR (Mr. BRODRICK,) Surrey, GuildfordThis corps has had one 5-inch breech-loading gun since October last. Four 6-inch breech-loading guns have been ordered for issue to the corps. Similar ordnance are available for the corps at the Tower of London.
§ MR. BROADHURSTIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that the gun now in the possession of the corps is useless; that many of its parts and carriage are defective, and that it is, therefore, of no use whatever?
§ MR. BRODRICKI am not aware of that, but I will make further inquiries if the hon. Member puts another Question on the Paper.
§ MR. SEYMOUR ORMSBY-GORE (Lincolnshire, Gainsborough)Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the new regulations on fire discipline recently issued to the Volunteer Artillery are rendered nugatory and impracticable by reason of the obsolete guns?
§ MR. BRODRICKI do not know whether my hon. friend realises the number of Volunteer Artillery in this country, and that it would be impossible, except at enormous cost, to give modern weapons of heavy type to all of them. If we were to do so, we should have a far larger quantity of heavy artillery than we could use in time of war.
§ MR. SEYMOUR ORMSBY-GOREBut two years ago the right hon. Gentleman promised that the whole of the Volunteer Artillery should have modern armament.
§ MR. BRODRICKNo; I never made any such promise. What I said was that 200 4.7 guns should be distributed as soon as they were available. That is being done.