§ MR. C. E. PRICE (Edinburgh, Central)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War whether the Heriot Trust of Edinburgh has agreed to sell the Redford esate for the purpose of erecting a cavalry barracks; and, if so, will he press forward the work with all possible speed in order to give employment to the large number of men in the building trade who are at present out of employment in Edinburgh.
§ MR. PIRIE (Aberdeen, N.)Before the right hon. Gentleman answers this Question, may I ask whether he will take into consideration the fact that this is 928 a national matter, and not a local one, merely fulfilling an obligation long overdue to Scotland and therefore will he distribute the work regardless of any local jealousies?
§ MR. HALDANEIn this case, as in the case of Salisbury Plain, I have received a storm of protests against the selection of the locality.
§ MR. HALDANEI am glad to be able to inform my hon. friend that negotiations with the Heriot Trustees are proceeding satisfactorily. I can assure him that as soon as the purchase of the site is completed no time will be lost in setting to work; but as the hon. Member is aware, before building operations can be actually started plans have to be prepared, contracts have to be placed, and other similar arrangements have to be made. All this will take a certain amount of time, and I should not like to promise that the building can be begun before I am certain that these preparations have been thoroughly made, though preparation of the site, road-making, and such work may commence earlier.