§ VISCOUNT BURY, in rising to call attention to the fact that at Abu Klea and at Metemmeh the ammunition supplied to the troops was defective, and that at the former battle the machine gun supplied to the troops stuck and became useless; that the same thing occurred again to the machine gun used in the affair at the advance zareba on the 22nd instant; to inquire whether Her Majesty's Government will produce and lay on the Table a Report in which General Sir Frederick Roberts made complaint of similar defects to those now adverted to; and to inquire, further, whether any other officers had made similar complaints? said, every thing that affected the welfare of our soldiers was of importance; and if it were true that some of the cartridges served out to the troops were defective, he should like to give Her Majesty's Government an opportunity of saying what had been done to remove the complaint. Although the information they had received was from the letters of special correspondents only, 643 yet the fact that in many instances they were very distinguished men rendered their opinion of considerable weight. They were told that at Abu Klea and several other battles the cartridges stuck in the Martini-Henry rifle to a very considerable extent. The rifles that became jammed were useless; and if this happened in the midst of a sudden rush of the enemy, our soldiers had not fair play and disaster was courted. Not only did the special correspondents now in the field speak of the defective cartridges, but he had heard in conversation the same complaint made by many military officers. No later than last year in India, during some field movements on an extensive scale, he was told that the number of rifles that became useless was extraordinary. He knew that Sir Frederick Roberts had sent home a short pithy Report so condemnatory of the cartridges that he trusted to hear that the matter had received the immediate and serious attention of the Authorities.
THE EARL OF MORLEYsaid, he entirely agreed with the noble Lord opposite that there could be no more important question than this. With regard to the case of the small arms ammunition, he was aware that there had been a report as to the jamming of the Boxer cartridge at Abu Klea, and Lord Wolseley had also made representations with regard to the cartridge. Before that time, however, he was bound to say they had had no complaints, and there had been no reason to suppose that the supply of ammunition was defective. The noble Viscount had referred to the great authority of Sir Frederick Roberts. He had inquired in every hole and corner of the War Office as to any Report from Sir Frederick Roberts with reference to the Boxer cartridge, which he might say was recommended by the Committee who sat in 1871.
§ VISCOUNT BURYsaid, that the Report he referred to was dated March, 1884.
THE EARL OF MORLEYsaid, he should like to know how the noble Viscount obtained that Report; he himself knew nothing about it, and it had not yet reached the professional officers in the War Office. The only Report he could find was one issued in 1880. At that time a Circular had been issued to the officers commanding British regiments under General Roberts 644 with a view of ascertaining whether the Martini-Henry rifle and ammunition acted satisfactorily in action. The question of whether the Martini-Henry was liable to jam in action was answered favourably, and General Roberts reported that the rifle was, on the whole, satisfactory and had jammed but slightly, except on its first issue, necessitating some slight alteration. As far as he knew, the only complaints made were of a certain number of accidents attributed to the presence of sand in the rifle. Some years ago complaints had been made of accidents due to a weakness in the form of the extractor, which had been put right. No complaints had been made as to the Boxer cartridge. He would point out that at present they knew very little about the causes of this jamming. Lord Wolseley had made certain representations on the subject, and it was under consideration whether they should not at once send out a supply of what were called solid drawn cartridges if possible. It was, however, by no means certain that solid-drawn cartridges would not have jammed under the same conditions. The Boxer cartridge had one considerable advantage over the solid-drawn, in that it was lighter than the solid-drawn by about two ounces in every 10 cartridges; and he need hardly point out how important it was that any addition to the weight carried should be guarded against. No doubt the solid-drawn cartridges had certain advantages over the Boxer. They were not so liable to injury by wet or from rough usage. In the absence of any detailed information he was not very willing to attempt an explanation. But there was no doubt that the presence of sand in the rifle might, to some extent, account for what had been complained of. With regard to the Gardner gun, it must be borne in mind that the five-barrelled gun was only supplied to the Navy. They had no report of its jamming last year or at present, although he admitted that in the newspapers reports had appeared that the gun had jammed in action. They had at present no information on that subject. The five-barrelled Gardner was not sent out for the use of the troops, except those from the ships, the military weapon having two barrels. He could assure the noble Lord that the Authorities were investigating this matter, and would take care that any representation 645 from Lord Wolseley was promptly attended to.
§ LORD DORCHESTERasked whether it was not the case that there were various descriptions of Martini-Henry cartridges, and that an inferior description had been adopted on account of its cheapness?
THE EARL OF MORLEYexplained that there wore two descriptions of Martini-Henry cartridges. They were both of metal, but one was rolled and the other solid-drawn, the former being called the Boxer. It was actually a fact that in 1871 a Committee had recommended that the solid-drawn cartridge should be used for practice, since the cases could be refilled, and the Boxer on general service.