MR. DUNDAS WHITETo ask the Secretary of State for War whether any land was purchased for the purposes of national defence about twenty years ago in Renfrewshire, in the neighbourhood of the Cloch Lighthouse; and, if so, in what year, and from whom it was purchased; what was the price paid; and whether it was subsequently sold.
(Answered by Mr. Secretry Haldane.) Land at Cloch Point in possession of Sir Michael Shaw Stewart was selected in 1899 for the construction of one of the batteries for the defence of the Clyde, and in January, 1905, the negotiations for purchase were completed, at a coat of £13,050. In 1907 it was decided not to construct a battery at Cloch Point, and the land being no longer required was re sold to Sir Hugh Shaw Stewart.