§ MR. CAINEI beg to ask the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that the horse-shoe nails recently referred to were rejected without the boxes being opened, on the ground that the Company, which had been invited to-tender and whose tender was accepted, was precluded from supplying nails of its own manufacture; and will the nails be accepted provided they are of the sizes-specified, and satisfactory in every respect, as to quality?
§ THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY TO THE WAR OFFICE (Mr. WOODALL,) Hanley(who replied) said: The nails were rejected because they were not in accordance with the specification under which the supply was ordered. They were nails of the "Globe" pattern, which though suitable for certain horseshoes are not considered suitable for the particular shoes for which nails were required in the contract. Those nails cannot be accepted, however good their quality, because they are not of the pattern required. It was quite open to the Company to supply nails of the Woolwich pattern of the required sizes and quality.