§ MR. C. B. HARMSWORTH (Worcestershire, Droitwich)To ask the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that the 2nd battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, which recently arrived in the United Kingdom from Egypt to be stationed in Dublin, was disembarked at Southampton and conveyed by train from Southampton to Holyhead, and again embarked at Holy-head for Dublin; whether a considerable saving could have been effected by disembarking the battalion at Queenstown or Kingstown; whether the same procedure is adopted in the case of all units and drafts leaving Ireland during the trooping season for foreign service; and, if so, whether a more economical arrangement could be effected, whereby a sufficient complement of men for a transport could be prepared for embarkation on the same date, and the transport despatched from a convenient Irish port.
(Answered by Mr. Secretary Haldane.) The facts are as stated. If the battalion had been disembarked at Queenstown, an extra expense of £230 would have been involved. Kingstown is not a suitable port for dealing with a transport of 6,600 tons. Queenstown is sometimes used for embarkations and disembarkations.