§ Mr. COURTHOPEasked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether any steps were being taken to provide His Majesty's ships with appliances for cleaning their bottoms at sea in order to avoid the serious loss of speed and increased coal consumption occasioned by fouling?
§ Mr. McKENNANo steps are being taken to provide His Majesty's ships with appliances for cleaning bottoms at sea, other than the ordinary diving gear forming part of the ship's equipment.
§ Mr. COURTHOPEasked whether the right hon. Gentleman's attention had been called to the electric scrubber for ship's bottoms invented by Mr. E. W. Macdonald; and whether any official trials of this appliance had been or would be conducted by the Admiralty?
§ Mr. McKENNAOfficial trials of Mr. Macdonald's scrubber have been made on three different ships of His Majesty's Navy. The results given did not justify the adoption of such a device.