§ MR. BLAKE (Longford, S.)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for. War whether it is intended to remove the Longford Militia to Mullingar; whether it is possible to allow the regiment to be quartered and trained in Longford; whether the strength of the Longford regiment is considerably greater than that of the Westmeath regiment at Mullingar; and whether, if the two regiments are to be trained together, it would be possible to move the Westmeath instead of the Longford regiment?
§ MR. WYNDHAMIt has been decided to amalgamate the Longford and Westmeath Militia Battalions of the Rifle Brigade into one eight-company battalion. At present each has an establishment of five companies, but this has proved too 1447 high, in each case for the recruiting capacity of the battalion. There are 390 men in the Longford, as against 360 in the Westmeath Battalion. The new battalion will have its headquarters and train at Mullingar. A range suited to the Lee-Metford rifle can be provided at Mullingar and not at Longford.