§ MR. BELLAIRSI beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date was the discovery made of the presence of mercuric chloride in the cordite at Kynoch's magazine, near Cardiff, resulting in the seizure of 23,000 pounds; and whether he can state when the appeal trial of Kynoch, Limited, in reference to the addition of mercuric chloride to some blasting gelatine, is likely to be heard.
§ MR. GLADSTONEThe 23,000 pounds of explosives which were seized at Mwyndwy Bach Farm, Glamorganshire, in December, 1906, was not cordite, but exclusively blasting explosives. The firm were suspected of using a masking agent in the summer of 1906, but it was not until just before the seizure that the Inspectors were in a position to prove the presence of mercury in blasting explosives. The case which Quarter Sessions agreed to state on the 24th April 99 has only been drafted by the appellants within the last few days. This delay on their part makes it most unlikely that the case will be heard until after the Vacation.