§ MR. BROADHURST (Leicester)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that the fiveinch B.L. gun allotted by the War Office to the Loughborough Junction Headquarters of the City of London Artillery Volunteers early in 1900 was not delivered until October, 1902; that it is useless for drill in consequence of a naval instead of a garrison mounting having been supplied; that a similar gun allotted in 1900 for the use of the same corps at the Tower of London is still useless for drill through deficiencies in the fittings; and whether he will see that delay does not occur in equipping the four six-inch B.L. guns recently supplied to their regiment.
LORD STANLEYThe guns which were taken over from the Navy required alterations and repairs which could not be taken in hand while the Ordnance Factories were fully occupied on services connected with the South African war. The gun issued to the headquarters of the corps being on a naval mounting adapted to land service is not useless for drill purposes. The deficiency in the case of the gun at the Tower was a yard scale; this deficiency did not render the gun useless, and the scale was supplied in January last. Mountings and stores will be issued for the six-inch guns as soon as they are available.