§ MR. P. W. WILSON (St. Pancras, S.)To ask the Secretary to the Admiralty whether his attention has been called to the statement that the recent catastrophe to a French battleship was caused by 1271 spontaneous decomposition of certain explosives; and whether these or similar explosives are supplied to the British Navy.
§ (Answered by Mr. Edmund Robertson.) The cause of the accident on board the "Jena" is not yet known. It would, therefore, be premature to make any statement on the subject. It may, however, be mentioned that the composition of the British and French propellant is not the same.