MR. BEESTo ask the Secretary of State for India whether the Royal Commission which sat shortly after the Mutiny, to consider the question of the forces necessary for the protection of India, advised that 80,000 British troops were required; and whether that number has ever been reached, or is at present serving in the Empire.
(Answered by Mr. Secretary Money.) My hon. friend has correctly stated the advice of the Royal Commission. The figure 80,000 has never been reached. The latest Returns from India show a strength of about 75,000 officers and men.