§ 15. Mr. Mathersasked the First Lord of the Admiralty the quantities of oil and motor spirit produced from Scottish shale used by the vessels of His Majesty's Navy during the years 1934, 1935, and 1936, respectively; and whether it is his policy to extend the use of this home product?
Mr. CooperRoughly 50,000 gallons of light products derived from Scottish shale were purchased in each of the three years mentioned by the' hon. Member for use by the Royal Navy. The exact quantity cannot be ascertained because one of these products—namely, petroleum spirit—is refined from both shale oil and imported petroleum in unknown proportions. It is the policy of the Admiralty to extend the use of home products, but the possibility of increasing the purchases from the Scottish shale industry is limited by the fact that owing to the better prices obtainable for other products, the industry is not now making any fuel oil.
§ Mr. MathersDoes the First Lord realise that the answer he has given involves a correction of a statement he made in reply to a question a few days ago where he did not indicate that any oil for the Navy came from Scottish shale deposits?