§ In answer to the Marquess of SALISBURY,
§ LORD PANMUREsaid, that there could be no doubt, and it was a matter of public notoriety, that the supply of water to the 1833 camp at Aldershot was not in the condition that could be desired. The difficulty, he could assure their Lordships, did not arise from any neglect on the part of the authorities. Upon the claim which had just been raised by the canal company with reference to certain springs in the neighbourhood, it was very doubtful legally whether the Government could avail themselves of the supply of water those springs afforded. Into that question the Government were investigating; and he had given directions that, if by law they could appropriate the springs, the water should be conducted into the camp, which could easily be done, as the distance was only three-quarters of a mile. During the interval wells had been sunk in different parts of the camp, from which a temporary supply of water was at present obtained. He had been informed by General Knollis, the commanding officer, that there was sufficient water in the wells, aided by occasional supplies from the canal in the neighbourhood, to supply all their wants. It was impossible that any of the camp's drainage could fall into the canal, and therefore no objection could be taken to the water on that head. He could assure their Lordships that so far from the health of the troops having deteriorated at Alder-shot, General Knollis reported that a most material improvement had taken place in the health of all the men, and that he had never seen an instance, either in camp or barracks, in which there was so little sickness. No doubt a great inconvenience existed at Aldershot. The ventilation of the huts was in some instances less perfect than in others; but the question of huts was so much disputed that it would be almost impossible to say what was the most desirable form to give them. However, in one case, in which General Knollis had reported, where twenty-five men slept in one hut, the temperature a four o'clock in the morning had been found never to rise above sixty degrees, which certainly was not too much. The desire of the Government was to inure the soldiers to the service, but not to injure their health in any way by exposing them to the influence of open drains or noxious smells.