HC Deb 25 March 1897 vol 47 c1324
GENERAL RUSSELL (Cheltenham)

I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for War whether Military manœuvres will be held on Salisbury Plain this year; and, if not, whether it is the intention of the Government to introduce any kind of Manœuvre Bill this Session, so as to give the troops the benefit of those exercises which they did not have last year, and which it is universally acknowledged are essential to secure their efficiency?

MR. BRODRICK

We have made provision in this year's Estimates for tactical exercises, and we intend that they shall take place; but the Military Works Bill is not yet law, and until it passes we cannot say precisely what our position may be in regard to the land on Salisbury Plain. Lord Lansdowne is most desirous of passing a Manœuvres Bill, but the question of Parliamentary time rests with the First Lord of the Treasury.