DOCKYARDS AND STEAM FACTORIES. RETURN to an Order of the Honourable The House of Commons, COPY" of BALANCE SHEETS showing the Cost of Manufacturing ARTICLES in the WORKSHOPS of the several DOCKYARDS and STEAM FACTORIES for the Year 1861-62." (Mr. Stansfeld.) Ordered, by The House of Commons, to be Printed, Abstract showing the Total Expenditure and Produce at each of the Manufac- turing Shops in Her Majesty's Dockyards, for the financial year 1861-62:— Portsmouth Devonport Pembroke - General Abstract, showing the Total Aggregate Cost of Manufacture at each of the Shops in the several Dockyards at Home, in the year 1861-62 - - Abstracts showing the Total Expenditure and Produce at each of the Manu- facturing Shops in the Steam Factories at Her Majesty's Dockyards, for the ADMIRALTY BOARD MINUTE, dated 10 July 1863. MY LORDS have received a letter from the Accountant General of the Navy, dated the 1st instant, enclosing the Manufacturing Accounts of the Dockyards and Factories for the year 1861-62. My Lords approve of the proposed modification in the form of the manufac turing balance. sheets, and also of the suggestion that a balance should be struck yearly between the totals of the two columns, the one showing the cost of production, and the other the Rate-book charge of articles manufactured in the workshops of the various Dockyards and Factories. My Lords will be glad to receive from the Accountant General, at the earliest possible day, the statement to which he refers of the proposed arrangements for valuing the stock in the several Dockyards on the 1st October next. The accounts forwarded will be laid before Parliament. C. PAGET. REPORT of ACCOUNTANT GENERAL of the NAVY. Admiralty, Somerset House, 1 July 1863. I BEG to forward herewith the accounts prepared at the several Dockyards and Steam Factories, showing the cost of various articles manufactured in the respective Workshops and Steam Factories in the year 1861-62, in order that the same may be laid before Parliament, in accordance with the course pursued with respect to similar accounts for 1860-61, and as intimated in the Report from this Department of the 24th March last, which accompanied the annual accounts of expense of ships for the year 1861-62, already presented to Parliament. In transmitting these accounts to their Lordships, I beg to state that they appear to have been prepared with equal care and under similar regulations as those for the year 1860-61; and I have, therefore, confined myself, in this instance also, to tabulating the accounts as rendered from the several yards in an improved debtor and creditor abstract form, exhibiting : 1st. The total cost of manufactures at each of Her Majesty's Dockyards and Pp. vi and 288. Factories, together with the aggregate amounts thereof. 2d. The total expenditure and produce at each of the manufacturing shops Pp. viii and 290. in each Dockyard and Steam Factory. 3d. The total aggregate cost of manufacture at each of the shops in the Pp. xxiv and 288*. several Dockyards and Steam Factories. 4th. The total cost and produce of manufactures in similar shops at the Vide "Detailed Abstract" pages, several Dockyards and Steam Factories; and with a view of showing more as given in clearly General Abstract, [iv] clearly the relative cost of the articles manufactured in the several workshops of Her Majesty's Dockyards, the charges so incurred are distinguished under the heads of "Materials," "Labour," "General Expenditure, and Per-centage for Wear and Tear of Machinery, Supervision," &c. In order to enable a comparison to be made between the cost of articles as manufactured at Her Majesty's Naval Establishments, and that at the current revised rate-book price, I propose, in future balance sheets, to introduce an additional column for the insertion of the prices of the articles as per ratebook, contrasted with the price at which they have been produced at the several workshops; and a balance will be struck yearly between the totals of the two columns. The balance sheets, showing the cost of the conversions of timber at the Saw-pits and Mills at the several Dockyards for the year 1861-62, are now, for the first time, in course of compilation, and I expect, before the close of the present Session, to be prepared to submit them to their Lordships for presentation to Parliament. With reference to that paragraph in the report of the 24th March last, before quoted, in which a hope was expressed that an account showing the value of the stock in hand at each Dockyard on the 31st March 1863, would be prepared and submitted to their Lordships during the present Session of Parliament, I beg to observe that, after carefully considering the arrangements necessary to be made for conducting so extensive an operation, the Storekeeper General concurs with me as to the impracticability of accomplishing that object within the period referred to; but very shortly the proposed arrangement for valuing the stock in the several Dockyards on the 1st October next, will be brought before their Lordships, for their consideration and directions. I request to be informed of their Lordships' decision hereon. J. BEEBY, Accountant General of the Navy. The Secretary of the Admiralty. |