§ MR. MARRIOTTasked the Secretary of State for War, Whether notices for tenders for not less than three tons of beeswax for lubricating purposes have 305 been issued by the authorities at Woolwich; whether the quality specified was the best African beeswax according to a sample; whether in fact the sample was "manufactured wax" prepared from mineral and other substances; whether the authorities made a contract on the basis of this sample; and, whether the jamming of cartridges, of which there have been so many complaints in the Soudan, is due to the combination of this "manufactured wax" with other substances?
§ SIR ARTHUR HAYTERTenders have been issued for beeswax, the supply to be genuine beeswax, not necessarily African, with a minimum melting point. To secure this minimum supplies may be mixed—that is, may consist of various sorts of beeswax in combination; but all must be genuine beeswax, and none manufactured from mineral and other snbstances. The samples were submitted to and approved by the War Department chemist. The beeswax used has not had anything to do with the jamming of cartridges.