§ MR. ERNEST NOELasked the Secretary to the Treasury, Whether he can inform the House on what ground the warrant of gift of the Hannahfield estate to the magistrates and town council of the burgh of Dumfries in trust, for the use of the inhabitants as a public park, ordered by Her Majesty to be prepared in 1873, has now been revoked; and, whether the property is to be conveyed absolutely to the War Office, the public being granted permission, under very limited conditions only, to use the open ground for purposes of recreation?
§ MR. W. H. SMITHSir, no warrant of gift of the Hannahfield Estate was ordered by Her Majesty to be prepared in 1873, and therefore none has been revoked. What has happened is this—In 1873 the Treasury determined the mode in which the estate should be disposed of, the principle of the distribution being that subject to two main considerations — (1) that a portion of the land should be available for purposes of public recreation, and (2) that it should be available for military purposes, the whole estate (less the Crown's share and certain specific donations) should be devoted to purposes of education, effect being thus given to the views of a former 857 owner of the property. At the time it was thought that the best way of carrying out this design would be to appoint a body of trustees consisting of the magistrates and Council of Dumfries and the Sheriffs and Sheriffs Substitute for Dumfries and Galloway, and to vest the whole estate in them, subject to the conditions specified. When, however, the details came to be arranged, difficulties supervened which proved insurmountable, and it has been decided to vest the estate in the War Department instead, subject, nevertheless, to the same conditions. This will make no difference to the inhabitants of Dumfries, as it is provided that they shall have the same use of the ground for recreation as they would have had if the fee had been vested in the Town Council and Sheriffs.