§ MR. BELLAIRS (Lynn Regis)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Admiralty and the War Office are in the habit of notifying the Home Office of the rejection of dangerous explosives, such as cordite and guncotton, by reason of impurities; if so, whether the practice has existed for some years; whether the Home Office then take into consideration the destruction or isolation of these rejected explosives; and whether there is any regulation to prevent rejected cordite and guncotton being shipped on board merchant vessels.
§ *MR. GLADSTONEThe War Office and Admiralty are not in the habit of notifying the Home Office of the rejection of explosives, but would probably do so in any case where they considered the explosive to be dangerous; and the question of what should be done with the rejected explosive would then be taken into consideration. No such case has, however, occurred before the present one. Many of the reasons for rejection are not connected with safety in keeping and conveyance, and would not disqualify an explosive from being legally conveyed in this country. In the case of a dangerous explosive it would be illegal to convey it by rail to a port of exportation, and under the by-laws of most harbour authorities no unauthorised explosive may be brought into the harbour precincts. An explosive which fails to pass the necessary tests or is otherwise 856 dangerous would cease to be an authorised explosive.
§ *MR. GLADSTONEIf a Committee which has been appointed by me in conjunction with the War Office in reference to this matter decide that this particular explosive is, in fact, dangerous to the public, of course it will have to be destroyed; but they will examine and report as to what can safely be done with it.