§ SIR J. COLOMBI beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for War 1038 whether the War Office acquired in 1875, from the Corporation of Great Yarmouth, a site, with a sea frontage, consisting of about twenty-three acres, which was acquired and paid for under the Military Forces Localisation Act of 1872; whether the property is freehold, what was the amount paid to the Corporation for it, what was the expenditure by the War Office on the erection of the barrack on this site, and what number of single soldiers it was built to accommodate; whether for ten months in the year there are only about sixty single soldiers occupying that barrack, situated within two miles of a range provided by the Corporation, and laid out to meet the views of the War Office; whether the War Office is aware that the estimated value of the twenty-three acres in question is now about £50,000, excluding buildings, and whether it is intended to fully occupy these barracks all the year round, or otherwise to utilise this site; and whether in the United Kingdom there are other barracks, built under the Military Forces Localisation Act, only partially occupied for the greater portion of the year.
§ * MR. WYNDHAMThe site referred to was acquired in 1875, and consists of about twenty-one acres. It is freehold. The amount paid to the Corporation was £1,635, and to the county for residue of lease and buildings, £12,500. The cost of alterations and additions for the depot of the Norfolk Artillery Militia was £17,137. The buildings now accommodate 185 men. The average numbers present in 1898 were 77, but strengths at all depots are subject to constant variation. If the site were sold another barrack would have to be built in the neighbourhood, and it is not considered probable that anything would be gained by the transaction. This is one of the barracks selected to receive convalescent soldiers.