§ MR. HUNT (Shropshire, Ludlow)To ask the Secretary of State for War if the new short rifle has been abandoned; and if the following defects have been found that the magazine jams; that the balance is bad; that the metal is too soft, resulting in the barrel being permeated with corrosive gas.
(Answered by Mr. Secretary Arnold-Forster.) The new short rifle has not been abandoned. A small defect in the magazine spring has recently been reported and a modification introduced to remedy it. The reply as regards the two other alleged defects is in the negative.