§ 27. Sir W de FRECEasked the Secretary of. State for the Colonies whether pencils produced in British East Africa are used in any of the Government Departments; and whether East African firms have been given an opportunity of tendering
§ Major HENNESSYThe supply of pencils for Government Departments is in the hands of the Stationery Office, who have shown every sympathy to the development of the East African pencil cedar industry. In 1923 it was decided to ask firms, when tendering, whether pencils would be made from Empire-grown cedar and to give preference, other things being equal, to those whose reply was in the affirmative. At least one order was placed under this arrangement. Later, it was found that there was much variation in the quality of the pencil cedar supplied from Kenya, but I have no reason to believe that firms using East African wood are at a disadvantage in tendering. The Stationery Office are testing samples of East African wood, and the steps to be taken for securing a more uniform standard of 607 quality in the slats sent to this country are now under consideration of the Government of Kenya.