§ Major ENTWISTLEasked the Home Secretary if he is aware that in Hull on Tuesday, 1st June, one boy was killed, four seriously injured, and one soldier injured through the explosion of a hand grenade which the deceased boy found on a scrap heap; and if he will issue regulations making it compulsory that all firearms, &c., shall be first taken to the police to be examined?
§ Mr. SHORTTI have received a report of this accident, which was caused by a shell fuze, not a hand grenade. A warning in regard to the danger of handling articles of this kind was issued to the Press by the Chief Inspector of Explosives in February, 1916, and this was repeated in May, 1919. I may point out that under the existing law it is an offence for any unlicensed or unregistered person to have such an article in his possession. I have no power to make 927W regulations in the sense suggested, and I fear that no such regulations would be effective in preventing occasional accidents such as this one.