§ DR. TANNER (Cork Co., Mid)asked the Under Secretary of State for India, Whether the Native inhabitants of the City of Rawul Pindi are, in consequence of the energy of the Commissioner, Colonel Parry Nisbet, now supplied with fresh water at all seasons of the year, which is brought from the River Rawul by pipes laid underground, a distance of seven miles, into the city; if it is true that the cantonments, distant about a mile from the city, are obliged to draw from wells the majority of which run dry in the hot season; whether any recommendations have been made, suggesting the extension of the water supply to the cantonments; and, if so, for what reasons have they not been carried into effect; and, whether steps will be taken at an early period to give the large body of troops stationed at the cantonments the great benefit already conferred upon the Native inhabitants of the city?
§ THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE (Sir JOHN GORST) (Chatham)There is no official information at the India Office which enables me to reply to this Question. The matter is one which it is in the discretion of the Government of India to settle without instructions from the Secretary of State.