§ MR. MUNTZsaid, before the House went into Committee of Supply, he wished to call the attention of the Secretary of the Admiralty to rumours prevalent among commercial men that it was of no use offering to contract for Admiralty stores unless they had friends to support them. He had heard of cases of contracts entered into to supply articles which, if there had been a fair competition, might have been supplied for something less than half the amount. If this report was correct, the sooner that state of things was remedied the better; if it was not correct, some authoritative contradiction ought to be given to it. He knew, as a personal matter, that many houses of the first eminence refused to tender to supply 52 the Government, believing they had no chance. Then there was another matter with regard to articles supplied to the Admiralty and also to other Departments of the service. It was left to the decision of a viewer whether the articles should be received or not, and he knew as a positive fact that in many instances viewers had refused to receive articles without assigning any reason whatever. He thought they should be required to give some reason. The impression prevailed that some douceur was necessary to induce the viewer to accept the articles. That such was the case some years ago he knew for a fact. He knew of a case where articles were refused, and the party who supplied them endeavoured to obtain a reason for their rejection, but no reason was given except that they would not suit. They consulted him, and he suggested as they had a relative in the House that he should put a Notice on the Paper to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty a Question on the subject. They did so, and in forty-eight hours the matter was settled. He thought a great deal of difficulty might be avoided if the viewers who refused to accept an article were required to give some reason for their refusal, and if there were some officer of standing and respectability to whom an appeal might be made.
§ Main Question, "That Mr. Speaker do now leave the Chair," put, and agreed to.