§ MR. JEFFREYS (Hants, Basingstoke)I beg to ask the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether the 2nd Battalion, Hampshire Regiment, after landing at Chatham from India in 1888, was sent last autumn to the Portsmouth Garrison, where it has had no barracks of its own, but has been separated in detachments over three of the Portsdown forts, and also at Gosport and Portsmouth, in consequence of the Royal Artillery having been given the vacant Infantry barracks at the latter station; whether this arrangement has been costing the country at the rate of £200 a year in order to bring the various detachments together for regimental and other parades three times a week; and how much longer a state of affairs so detrimental to recruiting is to continue?
§ MR. BRODRICKDuring the reconstruction of some of the barracks at Portsmouth there has been difficulty in concentrating the 2nd Battalion, Hampshire Regiment, and four companies have unavoidably been quartered in the Portsdown Forts and at Gosport, which has involved a cost of about £10 for tolls on the floating bridge when they had to cross to Portsmouth for parades. Whatever troops may be at Gosport have to cross to Portsmouth for field days, and tolls have to be paid. When the new barracks are finished it will not be necessary to divide a battalion as in this instance.