§ Mr. HODGEasked the Financial Secretary to the War Office (1) whether, in consequence of over-buying, the War Office Department responsible therefor placed some thousands of cases of bacon for sale last week on Smithfield Market, as well as with adjacent houses; and, if so, will he state the amount of loss incurred; and whether there have been similar occurrences during the past few weeks, and the amount of loss due thereto; and (2) whether, within the last few weeks, the Department responsible have over-bought cheese, and had to resell large quantities; and, if so, will he state the loss incurred?
§ Mr. FORSTERIt is true that owing to the fact that the consumption of these articles depends on the location of troops and cannot always be foreseen, we have had to sell some bacon and cheese to avoid deterioration. The loss on the sales is not yet known.