§ SIR LEONARD LYELL (Orkney and Shetland)On behalf of the honourable Member for North Aberdeen, I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for War what is the greatest number of men which it is considered advantageous to train at one time on Barry Links, and what force it is proposed to assemble there during the present year; what is the greatest number of regular troops ever assembled on Barry Links, and whether the benefits which the auxiliary forces in Scotland might derive from a training with regulars are being secured to the utmost extent by the training of regular troops there; what is the total number of the auxiliary forces, both Militia and Volunteers, in Scotland; and what proportion of each of them it was found possible to despatch to the South last year, so as to receive some training with regular troops?
THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR WAR (Mr. ST. JOHN BRODRICK, Surrey, Guildford)It is considered possible to train 4,000 men at one time on Barry Links. It is proposal to train 1364 about that number during the year; the number present at any one time will probably not exceed 1,400. The greatest number previously assembled was 1,000 in 1895. The benefits to be derived from such training have been brought to the notice of commanding officers of auxiliary forces, but they have not fully availed themselves of the opportunities held out. The total numbers of the auxiliary forces in Scotland are 65,508. The total numbers despatched to the South for training last year amounted to 4,756.