The Sun.
London, England, 1869-07-17 00:00:00

THE ABYSSINIAN INQUIRY.

The select committee of the House of Commons ap-
pointed to investigate the causes of the expense of the
Abyssinian war continued its sitting on Friday. Mr.
Candlish presided.
The examination of Mr. Dundas, late surveyor of the
navy, commenced at the previous sitting, was resumei.
Being interrogated by Mr. Mundella, be stated that a
carte blanche was given to the Peninsular and Oriental
Company for the supply of coals to the transports
employed in the expedition. The Government did not
throw the competition open to the public, because such a
course would have disturbed the market. No special
arrangement was made with the company as to the price
at which the coal should be supplied. They supplied
48,000 tons of coal at Bombay, 55,000 at Aden, and 10,000
at Suez. The price paid during the war for steam coal
was £6 Os. Bd. per ton, and for coal by sailing ships
£2 7s. The price of coal at Aden varied in times
of peace from £3 ss. 6d. to £3 ICs. 6d. per ton ; but he did
not know from ofEcial information as to the price of coal
at the present time, nor was he aware that the ordinary
price of steam coal at Aden was under £2 2s. per ton. He
did not know that the average price of steam coal at
Cardiff during the past two years had been 10s. per ton,
and the freight to India from 17s. to 28s. per ton. It was
true that during the war the coal station at Mauritius
was supplied at the ordinary peace contract price. That
was from 58s. to COs. per ton.

By Mr. Baxter : He did not consider that it was any
part of the duty of the Admiralty to find out what were
the profits of the contractors. It was no part of his duty,
while considering whether certain tenders should be
accepted, to inquire into the price of coals and the rate of
freight in order to find cut whether the Admiralty was
well served ; but it was expedient on several occasions not
to accept any tenders. The Admiralt y did inquire as to
whether a more advantageous contract could he made for
the Mauritius.

Mr. Baxter: You have heard of contractors laying
their beads together to make some arrangement by which
they would get a high price?
Witness: I be:ieve that does not often happen_
The Chairman: Do you mean that it is sometimes
done?
Witness : I do not say it is ever done.

By Mr. Baxter: Did not know that the contract for
the supply of coal to the Mauritius had been taken
by one of the first firms in the island at 48s. per ton.
By Mr. Beaumont : Welsh coal deteriorated in store
more rapidly than North Country coal.
By Sir John Hay : The urgency V:23 so great that it
was necessary to take coals on the spot; that in conse-
quence of this scarcity of coal for the service of the
expedition, the Admiralty took steps to fill up the
transports at Liverpool in bulk. The amount supplied at
Liverpool to the transport service was 14,G84 tons. The
ordinary contract for the supply of coal to the Mauritius
was based on the supposition that the vessels very seldom
made a demand upon the store there. It was very dif-
ferent in the merchant service, because anybody could
calculate the amount of coal required at a given time by
a steam-packet company ; but in the navy three or six
months might pass without a single application being
made for coal, and then in a week or two there might be
a demand upon the contractor for snore coals than had
been used in the previous twelve months. 'the calling of
ships at the Mauritius was moat irregular. It was
most important fur the purposes of war to substitute the
smokeless "Welsh coal for the North Country coal. On
the breaking out of the P.ussinn War, North Country
coal was supplied vtry cl: aply to the Baltic fleet, but in
the opening of ti.e year 1&57; the Commander-in-Chief and
the otiicers of the fleet urged the War Department to
supply smokeless coal, tecause of the liability, when the
other coal was used, of its creating a fog, and rendering
collisions imminent.

The Chaliman : Do you beneve it sloes happen that
contractors do conspire together to ()Main a high price for
coal ?

Witness : I have no official knowledge. I have been
informed of an effort of that kind being made, but I
know that on that occasion it was defeated.
The Chairman : Is it true that some of the transports
took such an amount of coal that half of it was required
to enable them to steam out and the other half to steam
back again?

Witness : No, it is an exaggeration. (Laughter.) The
witness added that the Government agents received ls. Gd.
per ton on the quantity of coal supplied. _ _

By Sir Stafford Northcote: The Government employed
the Peninsular and Oriental Company to supply coal
because, as they were a large company, their purchases
would not disturb the market. A disturbance of the
market would have had a bad effect on the other contracts
of the Government.

An adjournment was made soon after this evidence had
been given.

Several New York churches have their contribu-
tion boxes passed round by handsome young ladies, and it
pays immensely.

The Right Hon. the Lord Justice Selwyn, re-
specting whose health very serious but unfounded rumours
have circulated during the past week, is doing well. He
has submitted to a formidable operation ; but no doubt is
entertained of his recovery,
the Pall 31all Uazette announces a secession from
the Royal Italian Op-ra House. Among the seceders are
Mdlle. Christine Nillson, Signor Mongini, Mr. Santley,
Signor Gardoni, Signor Foil, Signor Arditi, the conductor,
31dme. Volpini, Mdme. Trebelli Battini, Signor Battini, M.
Gassier, and others.

At the select committee appointed by the Ilouse of
Commons to inquire into the site of the new law courts, evi-
dence was on Friday given by Mr. Fowler, C.E , cf the Metro-
politan Railway, by Mr. FreaLfleld (solicitor to the Bank of
England), Mr. Baxter (of the firm of Baxter, Rose, and
Not ton), and several others in favcur of the Howard-street
or Embankment site.

NoRwICH ELECTION PETITION.—The petitioner's
bill of costs in connection with the Norwich election peti-
tion amounted to £3,166. From this sum 12,492 was
struck off by the taxing master, leaving 2074 for the
respondent (Sir H. J. Stracey) to pay. The latter has,
however, a contra account against the petitioner. The
petitioner (Mr. Tillett) has appealed against the decision
of the taxing master.

THE IRISH CHURCH BlLL.—Advices from Bir-
mingham state that the council of the Liberal Associa-
tion of this town have invited deputations from Liverpool,
Leeds, Newcastle, Bradford, Bristol, Huddersfield, and
other towns to meet at the Westminster Palace Hotel
next Tuesday to wait upon the Government and offer
their support in passing the Irish Church Bill in its
original form. _ .

The council of the Liverpool Chamber of Com-
merce, dissatitied with the introduction of the 122nd clauso
into the Bankruptcy Act (now passing through Parlii.-
ment) relating to deeds of composition by bankrupts
with their creditors, which they are of opinion will nullify
the otherwise satisfactory amendments which have been in-
troduced into the bill, on Thursday resolved upon taking steps
with a view of having the obnoxious clauso struck out, or
so altered as to ho rendered innocuous.

On Friday William Joseph Lamb, particulars of
whose arrest at Rotterdam have already been given, was
charged before a full bench of magistrates with hav-
ing embezzled the sum of £9OO and upwards, the moneys
of and belonging to John Leaker Morris and William
Joseph Lamb. Mr. John Bond, a clerk in the employ
of the late firm of Morris and Lamb, of which the
prisoner was the junior partner, deposed to having
on the 26th of June drawn two cheques, one for £945 195.,
and the other for £95, by prisoner's direction. Mr. William
Arthur Rake, commercial traveller in the service of the firm,
proved having cashed the cheques in question and giving
the cash to Mr. Bond, by whom it was handed to Mr. Lamb,
Mr. Morris was called, and deposited to the existence of .1
partnership deed between himself and prisoner, and stater
that he had no authority to draw money from the bank
without his knowledge, and that the cheques in question
were so drawn. The prisoner was then remanded for a