§ MR. HARVEY LEWISsaid, in the absence of his hon. Friend (Mr. B. Osborne), he would beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for War, If any steps are about to be taken for the application of Mr. Lancaster's system of smooth, oval-bore rifling to Field Artillery; and if the Correspondence and Papers relating to it will be laid before Parliament; and also when the Report of the Ordnance Select Committee will be presented; and if it is proposed to remunerate the Gentlemen whose services were recommended by the late Secretary of State for War in reference to this subject?
THE MARQUESS OF HARTINGTONsaid, in reply, that it was not the intention of the Government at present to take any 874 steps for the application of the Lancaster system of smooth oval-bore rifling to field artillery. There was however a large gun on that principle which was about to be tried. There was a very voluminous correspondence on this subject, but it was mixed up with other matters, which could not well be separated from it. The Report of the Select Committee on Rifled Ordnance had been laid on the table; but as it had been printed by the War Office, it had not been deemed necessary to reprint it for the House. Fifty copies had been sent to the library for the use of Members, but up to the present time he had not heard that any application had been made for one. With regard to the other Question of the hon. Member he had to state, that the usual practice would be adhered to of not remunerating those whose inventions were not introduced into the service.