CAPTAIN FABER (Hampshire, Andover)To ask the Secretary of State for War if he will state whether officers in native regiments at Poona, in India, have been inhabiting houses where rats had died of plague; whether these houses were vacated in order to have the flooring repaired; and whether, when the officers returned from camp, they found the flooring in exactly the same state as before, although they pay over £40 a year rent for the lodging; and, if so, what steps he proposes to take.
(Answered by Mr. Buchanan.) The Secretary of State has not received any information from India regarding the condition of the houses occupied by officers of the native regiments at Poona. These are private houses rented by officers, and if there is any complaint of their being in an insanitary condition it would be dealt with by the cantonment authority under the Cantonments Act.