§ COLONEL MURRAY (Bath)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War, with reference to the double canteens now built for the 1st Infantry Brigade at Aldershot, what special advantages are claimed for this system over the old system of a canteen for each regiment; whether the views of regimental authorities at Aldershot and other stations on this question have been obtained, and with what general result; and whether the existing double canteens have been built as an experiment only, or whether it is intended to extend the system at Aldershot and other stations where more than one regiment or battalion are quartered?
§ * THE SECRETARY OP STATE FOR WAR (Mr. CAMPBELL-BANNERMAN, Stirling, &c.)The experience of the double canteens at Aldershot and Colchester is that they secure considerable economy of administration, as the staff for a double canteen but little exceeds that for a single one. This saving of expense renders a higher class of music and singing obtainable, and tends to keep the soldiers from frequenting less desirable places. The formation of two double canteens in the Stanhope lines at Aldershot was approved after carefully considering the views of the regimental authorities. The question must be considered to be as yet in the experimental stage.