§ COLONEL BOLDEROsaid, he wished, with reference to certain mortars that had lately been the subject of discussion in that House, to ask the right hon. Gentleman the Clerk of the Ordnance whether those mortars had undergone the usual test at Woolwich, namely, examination and proof? Proof, as every hon. Gentleman acquainted with the subject knew, was made with a charge of powder much greater than the ordinary charge. He further wished to ask, if those mortars 46 had been so tested, had any defects been discovered by those tests, and if not, had the contractor been paid for those mortars that had been sent for trial? The next question he wished to put to the right hon. Gentleman was, whether those mortars that had burst, had burst with the ordinary service charge, or while experiments were being made to ascertain their powers of resistance before bursting? He also wanted to know if there would be any objection to lay upon the table of the House a copy of the contract with Messrs. Grissell and Co., the prices named, and the specification of the iron to be used, and likewise the correspondence between the public departments and the contractors? He would further ask the right hon. Gentleman for a return of the quantity of ordnance proved at Woolwich between the 1st of January, 1850, and the 1st of January, 1856, stating the number of guns that had been rejected and the cause of their rejection? He thought that those returns would disabuse the public mind of an impression that the contractors for ordnance had been in the habit of imposing upon the Government.
§ MR. MONSELLsaid, that there was not the least objection to giving the returns asked for by the hon. and gallant Member. As to the first question put by the hon. and gallant Gentleman, the mortars alluded to had been tried by the ordinary service charge. In that trial one of them burst, and it was found, on investigation of the broken part, that it had been made of the most inferior iron. Another of the mortars passed the proof trial, but, upon hydraulic pressure being applied to it, it was found that, probably on account of the plug being loosened by the previous firing, there were upon, the face of the mortar five flaws, through which the water penetrated. The circumstances under which the trial at Shoeburyness took place were these:—It having come to his knowledge that an unfortunate accident had happened because of the badness of one of the mortars supplied by new contractors two or three months ago, he directed that no new mortars from the new contractors should be issued for use until two out of every lot supplied had been sent to Shoeburyness and fired with the ordinary charge until they burst. Two of Messrs. Grissell's mortars were accordingly sent for trial to Shoeburyness. The first of them burst on the tenth round, and then occurred the circumstance which had been adverted to in another 47 place. Money bad been paid to the contractors, but whether any had been paid on account of the mortars sent to Shoeburyness was more than ho was at that moment able to say.