§ DR. CAMERON (Glasgow, College)asked the Surveyor General of the Ordnance, Whether any mules, and, if so, how many, have recently been, brought to this country from Egypt; whether they were intended to serve for regimental transport; whether the result of inspection on arrival showed that none were large enough for draft work, and one-third too light even for ordinary pack work; what was the cost of their conveyance home; and, what the cost of keeping them in quarantine at Woolwich after their arrival?
§ THE SURVEYOR GENERAL (Mr. NORTHCOTE) (Exeter)96 mules were recently brought from Egypt for regimental transport purposes. The mules were ordered of the sizes required for pack duty, and the consignment are of the sizes ordered. They are reported to be "a good, well-bred, active lot of small mules, well adapted for carrying 2001b. of infantry ammunition, and some of them for mountain guns." Including forage on the voyage, the cost of transport was £7 a-head. The mules had not been, strictly speaking, in quarantine; but, inasmuch as glanders sometimes occur in Egypt, it was thought advisable to keep them under observation for a month before distributing them about the country. No expense had been incurred beyond the ordinary cost of feeding the mules.