COLONEL HERBERTsaid, he would beg to ask the Secretary of State for War, Whether it is the fact that several hundred Infantry Carbines, muzzle-loaders, without swivels to their ramroads, have been sent to the Cape of Good Hope for the use of the Cape Mounted Rifles; and if so, why such an inconvenient arm has been furnished to a Cavalry Corps, and whether any steps are contemplated to rectify the inconvenience?
§ MR. SIDNEY HERBERTsaid, he was not aware that any change had been made in the arms of the Cape Rifles till he saw this question put upon the Paper. On making inquiries, he found that the military authorities at the Cape had made a requisition for a certain number of the short Enfield rifles which had no swivels to their ramrods. The rifles had been sent accordingly, but he did not know why they had been ordered.