Large. Orders for War Material.

Manawatu Herald, 19 October 1899, Page 3

Large. Orders for War Material.

A Pretoria correspondent says that la9t year, in the early spring, certain large contracts were entered into on benalf of the War Department of the Transvaal -Republic. Here are the figures i — Six batteries — 86 gunsof the SchneidenGanot quick firing type, pattern 1896 (four guns had already been received in Pretoria for experimental purpose*) : 16,000 melinite shells ; 150,000 shrapnel shells ; 12,000 magazine Mausers (Mark II) ; 20,000 Peabody-Henrys. All this lot was ord'.-r^d in France and Belgium (Liege for delivery afc Antwerp). From an English firm were ordered at the name time 6000 long-barrelled 45-self extracting revolvers. Thase orderers were given in February, 1898! In May, 1898, 25,000,000 Mauser magazine rifh-s cartridgeg were ready for shipment ex East African Steamship Company for Ih-lagoa Bay. Now, a substantial instalment of the purchase monoy bad been paid on account of one of the Boer War Office's financial agents in Europe through an arms agent of the Republic, who is now dead. The whole consignment was sold by this enterprising agent to a representative of one of the belli-gf-rtnts in the Spanish American war, then in its initiatory development. A famine price was exacted, owing to the necessarily secret nature of the dubious transaction. Not too many inconvenient questions were asked. As showing bow universal is the pystem if bribery ;ind peculation that prevails in Pretoria, it may be added that millions of obsolete cartridges ju-quired a' a fraction of the cost of those sold on the double, have duly passed inspection and are now awaiting Iho attempt to foica them into barrels that are" somewhat too small for them. Ail this which has only been discovered within the last ccuple of day?, is driving the Administration a'mopt in?ane wilh despair.* Immense orders have been at once placed in Europe, England as elsewhere—but will the Imperial Go vernment let them be delivered ?