SHORTAGE OF HORSES.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 13714, 22 April 1910, Page 7

SHORTAGE OF HORSES.

A COMPREHENSIVE SCHEME

United Pres.i Association—By Electric To.egraph—Copyright. (Received April 21st, 10.15 p.m.)

LONDON, April 21

In the House of Commons, Mr Haldane, replying to Colonel H. Brodley, said that though there was no shortage of horses for tho peace requirements of the Army, the Government were considering a scheme of establishing Go-vernment-owned horse ranches in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. The expense and other difficulties had hitherto prevented a definite conclusion being arrived at.

In presenting the annual Army statement last month, Mr Haldano (reported by the "Daily Express") said, inter alia: —•"The question of the supply of horses for the military needs of the country has to be divided into two heads, viz., mobilisation and breeding. For the past, twenty years this question has been talked about, but nothing has been done. The Government, however, now propose to take some action, and I quite admit that they may be making mistakes in exploring what was hitherto unknown territory, but they intend to do the beet they can. They propose, very tentatively, to put a plan in force based on the existing powers of the Army Act, which enables the police to take a census of the number of horses. With the assistance of the Home Office this census has been taken, but all the resultq ure not yet to hand. I have sufficient figures, however, to show that -Jbe number of horses in the country is diminishing. The great question she Government have to consider is how many horses would be required for mobilisation. At present we require 67,278 horses for the itegular Army, and 86,287 for the Territorial Force, making a total of upwards of 153,000 horses. In the peace establishment of tho Regular Army, after deducting il) per cent, for defective horses, we have a total of 16,029 horses. We *tlso have a considerable number of registered horses—namely, 20,000; so that, broadly speaking, we have a deficiency ap-rpaching 120.000 horees. The President of the Board of Agriculture has been in consultation with mc about the breeding of horses, and we havo worked out a plan providing that stallions and mares found suitable for Army purposes should be registered as such by the Board of Agriculture, and owners of registered mares should receive facilities for offering young horses direct to the War Department, and the War Department would buy them at three years old, instead of four years old."