§ MR. BAUMANN (Camberwell, Peckham)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War whether any other patents of smokeless powder besides 711 cordite have been assigned to him as being the inventions of officers in the employ of the War Office; whether any other smokeless powder is being manufactured at any of the Government factories which, in the event of cordite not giving satisfaction, could be resorted to; on what grounds he decided that the cordite patent should no longer be secret; in what foreign countries Sir Frederick Abel and Professor Dewar have patented cordite; and whether any arrangement has been made by him with Sir Frederick Abel as to the profits of the foreign patents?
§ MR. BRODRICKCordite is the only smokeless powder the patent for which has been assigned to the Secretary of State, and no other form of smokeless powder is in course of manufacture in the Government factories. It will be necessary to give trade firms licence to manufacture cordite under the patent, and it is not considered necessary to keep the specification any longer secret. It is not known at the War Office in what foreign countries the inventors have patented cordite, and no arrangement has been made with them as to the profits under foreign patents.