ARMY ESTIMATES, 1897–8. (Hansard, 22 February 1897)

§ MR. FLYNN
asked the Government if they could now say whether they would grant a return of the number of horses bought in Ireland last year as compared with the number in former years.

*MR. POWELL-WILLIAMS
said he understood from what was said on Friday night that the hon. Gentleman wished the return to extend as far back as ten years. He was not yet in a position to say whether such a return could be furnished.

§ DR. TANNER
asked how it came to pass that the Austrians bought Irish horses, and the English Government absolutely refused to do so? In the matter of the sale of horses he maintained that his country was wronged.

§ MR. FLYNN
said he desired to raise again the question of the supply of foreign meat supplied to the troops stationed in Ireland. The Financial Secretary to the War Office had stated in Committee that the maximum amount was 60 per cent. of foreign meat—it might be less, it could not be more—but he was informed that this did not accurately represent the facts. The hon. Gentleman seemed to think that, by informing the Committee that the War Office would make inquiries, an end had been put to the matter. The War Office had been postponing a fair answer to this very legitimate complaint for a long time, and they wished, before this Resolution was agreed to, for some full, satisfactory and, 962 if possible, final explanation from the Financial Secretary. He would remind the House that they could get good Irish beef and mutton at very low—certainly at very reasonable—prices; and it was not economy—it was false economy—to supply these hard, frozen junks of indifferent beef to the soldiers of their Army.

*MR. POWELL-WILLIAMS
said the hon. Member claimed that with regard to these purchases Ireland should have preferential treatment.

§ MR. FLYNN
said Ireland wanted nothing of the kind. All they wanted was fair play.

*MR. POWELL-WILLIAMS
said, with reference to the hon. Member's statement that the troops were fed with junks of frozen meat, that the meat supplied to the troops was subjected to the severest inspection. It was of first-rate quality, and no complaint whatever from the troops reached the War Office. The proportion of frozen refrigerated beef was 60 per cent. at the outside, and the proportion of frozen mutton was one-seventh of the whole supply. He had pointed out to the hon. Member in Committee that, as a matter of fact, the proportion of fresh meat actually supplied to the troops was higher than that laid down in the contracts. The Secretary of State had appointed two officers specialty to look into this matter in all its details, and to endeavour, if they could, to surmount the difficulties, which undoubtedly were great in certain directions, with a view to a further purchase of home produced meat becoming possible. He thought the hon. Member ought to be satisfied with that assurance. The hon. Member could find out for himself, by reference to any of the Army Service Corps authorities, that this matter was involved in the greatest difficulty, and that any premature dealing with it would result in a serious failure of the supply to the troops.