§ MR. BELLAIRS (Lynn Regis)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty whether the heavy guns of the 12-inch, Mark VIII. pattern, as fitted in fifteen of our battleships, are a Woolwich design; and whether a number of these guns made in Woolwich Arsenal were shifted last year owing to serious defects.
§ MR. EDMUND ROBERTSONThe Answer to the first part of the Question is in the affirmative. Some of the guns of Woolwich manufacture were removed from ships last year for adjustment, and have since been re-issued. The defects were not considered serious.