§ MR. LOUIS SINCLAIRI beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for War whether fever has broken out in the 2nd Battalion of the Essex Regiment now stationed in India; and, if so, could he state to what extent; if the 2nd Battalion of the Essex Regiment left England in 1882 for foreign service, and has never returned to the United Kingdom since that time; and, if this is so, whether, after such a lengthened period of foreign service, the Secretary of State for War will recall that battalion home as soon as possible to allow it to be stationed in its own county for a time?
§ MR. BRODRICKIn the return from the battalion, dated February 1st, the health is described as "indifferent," but the numbers in hospital were about normal; and the prevailing diseases appeared to be of a specific character. The average tour abroad of an infantry battalion is 17 years. The 2nd Battalion Essex Regiment left England in 1882, and is ninth on the roster for return home.