The interim Report of the Water-tube Boiler Committee appointed last
September has been issued. To put the matter briefly, the Committee approve the water-tube boiler system in principle, but absolutely condemn the Belleville type, recommending that it should only be retained in completed ships, or in ships so far advanced that any alteration of the type of boiler would delay their completion. They also suggest that if a type of water-tube boiler has to be decided on at once for use in the Navy, some or all of four types other than the Belleville should be taken. The Report of the Committee is a great triumph both for Mr. Allan, M.P., and the Pall Mall Gazette, for both consistently denounced the Belleville boilers, and demanded investigation. It would be unwise to attempt to minimise the seriousness of the Report. The waste of public money on these boilers has been prodigious.
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