§ SIR CHARLES DILKE (Gloucestershire, Forest of Dean)To ask the Secretary of State for War if he will state the reason which led the Army Council to omit the ages of cavalry and horse and field artillery horses from the General Annual Report on the British Army, published in March last; and, whether, inasmuch as the number of horses of military age continues to be known to the Army Council, the policy can be reconsidered in publishing tables in the coming spring, and the number of horses fit for service given.
(Answered by Mr. Secretary Haldane.) These tables were omitted from the 398 General Annual Report after careful consideration because they were not held to be of sufficient public or official interest to justify their retention. Owing to the recent reductions in the Unit Returns it would have been necessary to institute a special Return in order to obtain this information from India, as the Return in which it was formerly included has been abolished. At a time when every effort is being made to reduce the labour involved in the preparation of Returns I deprecate any reintroduction of such work. My right hon. friend will also doubtless recollect that a Committee of this House only recently urged strongly the necessity of reducing the size of Parliamentary publications, and the Return affords a case in point.