asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will make inquiry into the circumstances under which a shell fired by a naval vessel landed in a factory and house in Leith; and whether he will devise a better way of warning trawlers against danger?

The shell was a plugged shell fired from a coast battery, and this method of warning vessels of danger is not used unless all other means of attracting attention have failed. In this case, a ricochet occurred, and there was an abnormal variation in direction as a result. Experiments are being carried out with a view to lessening the possibilities of ricochets.