The Sun.
London, England, 1856-03-08 00:00:00

supplied are too often not only far more costly,
but much inferior to what could be obtained from
private firms of high credit and reputation. But,
unfortunately, it has been discovered, in many
recent cases, that the heads of such establishments
do not send in tenders in accordance with the
stipulated terms, or that, if they do so, they
have merely their labour for their pains, inas-
much as they are invariably under-bid by persons
who endeavour to compensate for cheapness of
price by worthlessness of material—who have
no characters to lose, and are willing to act in
the most fraudulent manner if they can only
realise gain thereby. The startling announce-
ment by Mr. Morrsur. that one house with which
Government had dealings " was found to have
made attempts at deception in the manu-
facture of five mortars, by inserting pieces of
iron, in order that the flaws in the material
they had used might escape observation," is
alone sufficient to justify any departure from the
ordinary system, although with additional ex-
pense. We cannot conceive a more atrocious crime
than these parties had attempted. The safety,
honour, and welfare of the nation might depend
on the efficiency of these guns, which were prac-
tically useless. The lives of those by whom they
were served—nay of the entire army—might be
jeopardised by the infamous fraud, and yet the
names of the delinquents were kept back.
Although, to use a vulgar but expressive phrase,
" hanging would be too good for such criminals,"
they were not even exposed for the outrage, their
names were sheltered from the national detesta-
tion, whioh their conduct so eminently merited.
We trust that this undue reserve may no longer
be maintained, but that suitable measures may be
adopted to bring the criminals to justice.
As Lord PALMERSTON justly remarked, " no-
thing could be more absurd than that Govern-
ment should make clothes, shoes, belts, and things
of the kind, the common produce of the industry
of the country." A stringent examination will
detect any fraud, and even the inferiority of the
article, if suffered to pass, although inconvenient,
will not occasion any irreparable damage. But
with fire-arms of any description, large or small,
the matter is altogether different. There the
inferiority can only be discovered at the moment
of trial, and irreparable damage may be sustained
from the failure. Had it not been for the de-
fective material of the mortars used at Sweaborg
a much better account would have been ren-
dered of the Russian fortress. The honour of
our " wooden walls" was imperilled, and the
Russian prestige maintained by the dishonesty of
contractors, whose wealth, multiplied a hundred-
fold, could not compensate for the'.injury in-
flicted on their country. Whatever, then, may
be the proper rule in other cases, implements of
war must form an exception thereto, particularly
those that cannot be adequately tested at home
before the time when everything may depend
their efficiency and soundness.
The Government articles cannot fail in this
way. The temptation to use imprdper materials
is wanting. Cheapness and economy are very
good things in their way, but they may be car-
ried too far, and there is nothing that should be
so cautiously avoided as " a penny-wise-and-
pound-foolish policy."l The result of a single
battle, or even a comparatively trifling conflict,
would be far more important than all the savings
that could be effected by the contract system,
more especially as it is now carried on by the
Government.

We therefore commend Ministers for seeking
to avoid this formidable danger. It is even
important as a matter -of. X a. d., and putting
higher considerations altogether out of the ques-
tion, it is of the greatest possible consequence
that there should bo factories entirely under the
control of Government, to act as a check on those
who might otherwise make extravagant demands
when they thought their services indispensable.
However costly, in the first, instance, the cannon
and small arms may be much cheaper in the long
run, and there is almost a certainty, s' far as hu-
man precautions can insure it, that there will be no
failure in the hourof danger and trial. It wasjustly
remarked, that " it will not do to take your sol-
diers into action with muskets that won't carry,
with guns that burst, and with mortars that

split." Let there be economy in. other matters !
Let the jobs that so frequently disgrace the

nation be carefully eschewed, but in tho materiel