§ GENERAL DUNNEsaid, he would beg to ask the Secretary of State for War, Whe- 1668 ther it be true that the manufacture of the Cartridge known as No. V. has been suspended (in the Government arsenals) by desire of the Commander-in-Chief on account of the accidents that have arisen by its use; whether the non-competitive Contract made with the Messrs. Eley for the supply of these same Cartridges No. V. has also been suspended; whether these Cartridges were the result of experiments made in the Royal Arsenal; whether Colonel Boxer, R.A., has taken out a patent for them; and whether he receives a royalty on his patent from those who manufacture them; and, whether a Contract for the manufacture of Cartridges, to be called No. VI. Boxer Ammunition, is to be made without competition, in the same manner as that for No. V. was made.?
§ SIR JOHN PAKINGTONsaid, in reply to the first Question of the hon. Member he bad to state that the contract had been suspended, on account of the accidents which had lately occurred during practice at Aldershot, with a view to the substitution of a cartridge of a stronger make. With regard to the second Question, the contract had not been suspended, and his hon. and gallant Friend was mistaken in calling it non-competitive, because the parties had been invited to tender. In answer to the third Question, these cartridges were the result of such experiments, and Colonel Boxer had taken out a patent for them. Lastly, no such intention was entertained by the Government as was glanced at in the fourth Question, and the usual course would be pursued.