§ MR. HANBURYI beg to ask the Secretary of State for War who were the members of the Explosives Committee other than Sir F. Abel and Professor Dewar; in how many and which foreign countries have Sir F. Abel and Professor Dewar, or either of them taken out foreign patents for cordite, and on what dates in each case; what was the date of the assignment to other persons of each of such patents; to what official of the War Office did they or either of them communicate the fact of having taken out such patents, and on what date or dates, and by what method; and when did this information formally reach the Secretary of State, and by what method?
§ *MR. CAMPBELL-BANNERMANIn answer to the first paragraph, Dr. Dupré, F.R.S., was the third member of the Committee, and Captain Thompson, R.A., was Secretary. As to the subject of paragraphs 2 and 3, we have, as I have already stated, no information. With regard to numbers 4 and 5, there is no record of any formal communication of the fact that foreign patents were taken out, but the assignment of these patents was, as I informed the hon. Member, intimated to the Director of Artillery on March 25, 1891, by letter.
§ MR. HANBURYWhen was the intimation conveyed to the Secretary of State for War?
§ *MR. CAMPBELL-BANNERMANIf the hon. Member means the Secretary of State for War personally, I cannot tell him. He probably heard of it in conversation with the Director General of Artillery. If the hon. Member merely means official conveyance, then the imparting of the information to the Director General of Artillery would be equivalent to giving it to the Secretary of State for War.
§ MR. HANBURYDoes the right hon. Gentleman say that information in regard to the foreign patents was not given to the War Office until two years after they had been taken out? And was the late Financial Secretary to the War Office correct when he said that the Director General of Artillery did not convey it to the Secretary of State for War till a further year had elapsed?
§ MR. CAMPBELL-BANNERMANThere is no official record. I can only judge by the Papers, and I cannot tell when the Secretary of State was personally informed of the assignment, as it is not alluded to in any official document at the War Office.
§ MR. HANBURYI beg to ask the Secretary of State for War, to what Military Authorities, if any, did Sir F. Abel and Professor Dewar, or the Explosives Committee, submit the result of their trials of various explosives, and what Military Authority decided that cordite was distinctly superior to the other explosives, and thereupon recommended it to the Secretary of State for adoption; did such or any Military Authorities investigate the other explosives independently of Sir F. Abel and Professor Dewar before giving their decision; on what date was it finally decided to adopt cordite into the Service; and on what date did Messrs. Abel, Dewar, and Anderson apply for a patent for machinery for its manufacture?
§ *MR. CAMPBELL-BANNERMANThe results of the trials wore reported by the Committee to the Director of Artillery, who submitted his recommendation on the subject through the Adjutant General to His Royal Highness the Commander-in-Chief, and the Secretary of State approved cordite for manufacture and for further experiments on November 14, 1890. The Reports submitted by the Committee embraced all the ex- 978 plosives under competition, and the Military Authorities considered that no further investigation was necessary, except as to cordite. Subsequently to this approval of cordite, it underwent further tests in various climates and under varying conditions. The results of these being satisfactory, it was finally and formally adopted as a Service store in May, 1893. The date stated by the hon. Member on the 15th instant as that on which the patent for machinery was taken out—namely, July 22, 1889—is correct.