§ MR. BURT (Morpeth)I beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty whether his attention has been called to the recent case of Bell's Asbestos Company v. Davis and Selfe, and to the report which appeared in the Financial News of the 21st instant of the meeting of the Company; and whether, considering that the practice of bribing subordinates in the employment of users of asbestos was defended by the Chairman of the Company, and that an amendment directed against the practice was defeated by a large majority of the shareholders present, the Admiralty will give directions that no person connected with this firm shall be admitted into Her Majesty's Dockyards, and that no more orders shall be given to the Company?
§ LORD G. HAMILTONMy attention has been directed to the report of the meeting of this company, and to the defence by the chairman of the company of the practice of obtaining the goodwill of the employés of users of asbestos by the payment of moneys, the vouchers for which were excluded from the auditors' scrutiny. A practice so reprehensible and demoralising requires prompt repudiation on the part of those; dealing with the company. The Admiralty contracts with this company terminate on the 30th of June. I have directed a, letter to be written to the company informing them that after that date they will not be on the list of Admiralty contractors.