asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether the War Office are prepared to consider the position of men who volunteered for service on the outbreak of war when over military age; whether many of these men are now upwards of fifty years of age, and in some cases have served continuously in the trenches; and whether, in the cases of men with domestic obligations, the War Office is prepared to favourably consider applications for discharge to enable them to take up work of national importance in private life?

Applications based on domestic or compassionate grounds are, even if the applicant is category "A," sympathetically considered for a period of Home service, especially if the man concerned enlisted voluntarily and has served abroad for any considerable period. The man-power situation does not admit of the release of any fit men from the Army, and only cases of a most exceptional nature can, therefore, be considered.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War why Private J. Ruben, No. 110lJ, Jewish Battalion, has been drafted overseas after only three weeks in the Army and without any embarkation leave?

The man referred to by my hon. Friend had served for two months and ten days when drafted to complete his training overseas with his battalion. I am informed that he was given embarkation leave prior to leaving.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what charge J. P. Hughes, a conscientious objector, at Dartmoor, was arrested; whether it followed the report of Major Terrell; and whether that report will be published?

The Committee on Employment of. Conscientious Objectors requested the Army Council to recall this man to his unit for refusing to work and for persuading other men to refuse to work. Before deciding to take this course the Committee had before them the report of an inquiry held at Prince town by the hon. and learned Member for Gloucester, the reports made to them by the manager and other officers of the work centre, and the man's own statement. The reply to the third part of the question is in the negative.

asked the Minister of National Service whether his attention has been called to cases of men who have been enlisted into the Army while suffering from tuberculosis and who had produced certificates from the tuberculosis officer which were ignored by the medical boards; and whether he proposes to issue instructions to the medical boards, inconformity with Army Council Instruction No. 908/16, providing that a certificate from the tuberculosis officer or the medical officer of health is satisfactory evidence that a man is suffering from tuberculosis and that no further diagnosis is necessary?

No, Sir, I am not aware of any such cases. Certificates from tuberculosis officers are not ignored by National Service Medical Boards. On the contrary, all such certificates and all the evidence obtained from tuberculosis officers are carefully considered as directed in National Service Instruction No. 18, of 1917, which has been referred to in previous answers made on this subject to my hon. and gallant Friend. It must, however, be obvious that the decision in any case in which the presence of tuberculosis is alleged must rest with the medical board who are responsible for the diagnosis. I may add that the procedure laid down in the National Service Instruction was settled in consultation with some of the most eminent specialists in pulmonary disease in this country, and with the full concurrence of the Local Government Board. The Army Council Instruction to which my hon. and gallant Friend refers is, I am informed, about to be withdrawn, and an Instruction embodying National Service Instruction No. 18 will be circulated by the War Office for the information and guidance of their medical officers.

asked the Minister of National Service whether his attention has been called to the number of farmers' sons throughout the country there are engaged on the land and who are very fit militarily and between the. ages eighteen and twenty-five; and, if so, has he considered the advisability of substituting for these men soldiers of agricultural experience who have done their share of the fighting on the various fronts?

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on the 24th January by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of National Service, and to the answer given by the Under-Secretary of State for War to the hon. and gallant Member for Banffshire on the 5th February.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say how many farmers' sons of between fifteen and eighteen there are in the country?

I cannot go into that.

Has substitution taken effect to any extent in the case of farmers' sons?

There is a shortage of really skilled agricultural labour in this country, and at present we are engaged in reinforcing the supply of skilled labour to assist food production.