§ MR. BRADLAUGH (Northampton)asked the Surveyor General of the Ordnance, Whether leather supplied by Messrs. Ross and Sons has been found to be adulterated with glucose; whether this adulteration adds to the weight of the leather; and, whether, in hot dry climates as Egypt, leather so adulterated grows very hard and brittle, and cracks so as to become rotten?
§ THE SURVEYOR GENERAL (Mr. NORTHCOTE) (Exeter), in reply, said, the result of a special examination ordered by the War Office showed that certain hides supplied by Messrs. Ross had been treated with glucose. The whole subject was under investigation, and the result had not yet been reported to the Secretary of State. He, therefore, hoped he might be allowed to defer his answer; but when the inquiry terminated, he would communicate the result to the House, and he trusted the hon. Member would wait for it.