MR. JOHN WILSON (Falkirk)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for War if he is aware that the Volunteer force in Great Britain has during last year fallen off by fully 4,000 men; and if, considering the importance of maintaining and rather increasing the defensive forces of the country, he will now consent to grant an inquiry into the circumstances which led to the disbandment by the War Office of 700 to 800 Volunteers at Airdrie last year, and also into the reasons for the decrease throughout the country?
§ MR. BRODRICKIn the opinion of the Military authorities the decrease in the number of efficient Volunteers is fully accounted for by the increased 1376 stringency of the conditions for efficiency and by the medical examination. The Secretary of State sees no necessity for instituting the inquiry suggested.