DR. CAMERONasked the Secretary of State for War, Whether the cutlasses in use in the Navy were procured from the same manufacturers as have supplied swords to the Army; and, whether the tests to which they were subjected differed from those which, in the case of the Army, have recently been abandoned as insufficient?
§ THE SURVEYOR GENERAL OF ORDNANCE (Mr. WOODALL)(who replied): No Navy cutlasses have been procured from any source for the last 21 years. In 1858–9 some were obtained from Germany; but the great majority of those in use in the Royal Navy were produced by various English firms, two of whom also supplied Cavalry swords. Of the firms referred to only one now survives. The tests for cutlasses differed from those for swords because the blades were of different pattern. Last year 50 cutlasses were taken at random from store and were subjected to a severe test with satisfactory results. The whole will be re-tested as soon as the testing of the bayonets is completed.