asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the conditions under which chevrons or badges for active service will be issued to the Navy and Royal Marines?

The Admiralty have under consideration the nature of the badge or distinctive mark which should be adopted, and the conditions under which it should be granted?

When does the right hon. Gentleman think they will be able to give definite instructions on this subject?

There will be no undue dalay.

asked the Under-secretary of State for War if Territorials who volunteered for service abroad and who were in consequence sent to India will be awarded the chevron on the same conditions as if they had been sent to France?

The chevrons will, subject to the conditions already published, be issued to soldiers who have served in a theatre of war. For this purpose India is not regarded as a theatre of war.

Is it not a fact that these men enlisted for home service only; that they volunteered for foreign service, and were ready to go to France, and the Government deemed it right for them to go to India? Having regard to the disappointment caused to these men, will he further consider the matter?

I am aware of all those facts, and I will bring those representations before the proper authority.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that a great many of these men have seen active service? India is an active theatre of the War, and does the hon. Gentleman suggest that the War Office pretends that the Territorials who went to India to relieve the old Regulars, who went to the front, ought not to have the chevron?

Arising out of the unsatisfactory replies, may I give notice that I will raise the question on the Motion for the Adjournment to-night?

Will those who have served in Mesopotamia, especially those who have fought in campaigns, receive the award under the same conditions as those who have fought in France?

Yes, Sir.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he will consider the desirability of differentiating by some distinctive mark between a decoration gained for services rendered in military operations on sea or in the fighting line on land and a similar decoration gained in administrative work?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 18th October to my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Antrim East, to which I regret I can add nothing at present. The matter is under consideration, and I cannot make any definite statement.

asked whether men who have been discharged from the Army will be entitled to wear the chevrons for the duration of the War to which they would have been entitled had they remained in the Army?

The chevron is to be worn with uniform only.

asked the Prime Minister whether, in view of the fact that a decoration is to be granted to the Army for services rendered in France in 1914 to commemorate the deeds of the Old Army as it was then constituted, the 29th Division and other Regular units which participated in the operations on the Gallipoli Peninsula will receive any special decoration for those services?

This decoration is not being given, as stated by my hon. and gallant Friend, to commemorate the deeds of the Old Army. It is a recognition of the special services rendered to the Empire by the military forces under Field-Marshal Lord French's command—which included Territorials—engaged in the operations in France and Belgium in the critical phase of the War which ended with the first battle of Ypres.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that last week I was given an answer saying that this medal was being given to commemorate the deeds of the Old Army; is he not aware that the 29th Division performed deeds unequalled and unparalleled in the history of the whole world, and is it proposed that their services should be ignored?

The hon. Member is arguing the matter.

May I ask whether the 29th Division performed any better services than others, and will he consider the deeds of the 42nd Division?

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he can say if the wives of civil subordinates (labourers) ordinarily employed at the Royal Naval Hospital, Stonehouse, and now on active service are entitled to the recent bonuses; and, if so, will he take the necessary steps of circulating the information so that these women may know their position in this respect?

The recent war increase granted to civil subordinates serving at the Naval Hospitals is payable as an addition to the balance of civil pay in the cases of those married employés now on active service who are entitled to draw civil pay. General instructions to this effect have been given.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he has received an application from the widow of an engine-room artificer who lost his life on board a submarine; whether he is aware that this man's parchments showed fifteen consecutive V.G.'s for character and nine V.G.'s for ability, and that this man joined the Royal Navy in 1901 and lost his life on 6th July, 1916, having completed fourteen years 225 days' service; and whether, in view of the fact that had he completed the whole fifteen years he would have been entitled to a good conduct medal and £15 gratuity, he can see his way to award the medal without the gratuity so that the children may have something to cherish to the memory of their late father?

The application referred to has been received, and the facts regarding the man's services are as stated. The Regulations as to the award of the long service and good conduct medal require a minimum period of fifteen years' service with continuous V.G. character, and the man in question was, I am afraid, ineligible for the award. It is inevitable that disappointment must be caused when a man is prevented by death from fulfilling the service qualification laid down for an award, but the Regulations are specific on the point. There is a misunderstanding as regards the gratuity. After a medal has been awarded an engine room artificer commences to earn a good conduct gratuity at the rate of £3 a year for each year of further service with V.G. character, and it would therefore take at least five years to earn the maximum gratuity of £15. Even if this particular man had survived to obtain the medal, he would have had to serve for at least an additional year before he became eligible for any gratuity at all.

Does not the right hon. Gentleman think that, in view of the peculiar services of this man —that he went down in a submarine and only had 100 more days to serve—the Lords of the Admiralty might consider the advisability of granting the Good Conduct Medal?

I have asked the official concerned whether the rule has ever been departed from, taking into account the shortage of 100 days, and I am told that it has never been done; but I will go into it again.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that in naval warfare, before the present war there were no submarines?

asked the Pensions Minister if he will state the cause of delay in awarding the pension allowance to Mrs. M'Manus, Killoe, county Longford, mother of Sergeant J. M'Manus, No. 4850, 1st Battalion, Irish Guards, who was killed on the Somme some twelve months ago; whether he is aware that this man was a policeman who had some bank savings and also back pay and allowances at the time of his death, not one penny of which his friends have received, although his mother is old and poorly off; and will he undertake to expedite this case for the benefit of the dependants?

I am obliged to the hon. Member for having brought this case to my notice, as there is no record relating to it in the Ministry, and no application has been received. Immediate investigation of the case is now being made

May I inform the hon. Gentleman that I myself, on behalf of the relatives, placed the facts of this case before the Department three months ago?

I am not aware that the hon. Member wrote to the Department. I have no record.

Why has the widow of this soldier to make an application at all?

Because in some cases we do not get the necessary information from the Record Office.

Does the Department ever get any record at all about the widow from the Record Office?

The point is this. In the case of a widow we get the information. This is the case of a mother, and as a general rule application has to be made.

asked the Pensions Minister why the dependants of Driver John Rush, No. 217184, Royal Field Artillery, serving in France for ten months, who left his sister, Mrs. B. O'Connor, Newtowncashel, 3s. 6d. a week out of his pay, have not got the other grants to which they were entitled, although they are nine in family and were solely dependent on this soldier before going to the front?

I very much regret the delay that has occurred in this case. The soldier's claim unfortunately went astray after dispatch from the Pay Office, and the pension officer reports that he has now recovered some of the lost documents from the Post Office. The claim will be investigated at once, and, if established, will be put into payment at the earliest possible date.

Can the hon. Gentleman say when?

I am afraid I cannot give any date.

asked the Pensions Minister whether he has any information with regard to J. G. Guy, No. 4686, now an inmate of Craw Road Poorhouse, Paisley; whether he is aware that he was discharged on 1st May, 1917; that he wrote to Chelsea in June and had a reply stating that it would be weeks before his case could be settled; that seven weeks later he got a form to fill up; and that he has since written three or four letters and received no reply, in consequence of which he has been compelled to go into the workhouse; and whether he can say what steps he is taking generally to prevent this degradation to old soldiers?

I am obliged to my hon. Friend for calling attention to this case. I have not had time since he put his question down to get information as to the cause of the delay, but I have given directions to have the matter investigated immediately, so that the man may be awarded his appropriate pension or gratuity, as the case may be.

While I am obliged to the hon. Gentleman for what he has done, does he not think the pension authorities ought to take some precaution to prevent discharged and disabled soldiers from landing in the workhouse? Will he as a precaution get the Department to ask all workhouses in the country to intimate at once to the Pensions Department whenever a discharged soldier turns up there, so that his case may be dealt with within a few hours?

I can only say I greatly regret the delay in this case, and as regards the hon. Member's suggestion we will certainly consider it.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he is aware that the wages of the hosemakers in His Majesty's Dockyard, Devonport, range from 29s. to 30s. a week; that these men average from thirty to thirty-five years' service; and whether, in view of the fact that they are mechanics and that their work is of a special class, he can see his way to place them with regard to wages on the same footing as skilled labourers in His Majesty's dockyards?

The application from these employés is under consideration.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say how long this application has been under consideration, and does he anticipate the opportunity of an early reply?

It cannot have been under consideration for a long time, because it arises out of the increase we gave to the skilled labourers, and that did not take place long ago.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether, in consequence of the success of the German raiders in the North Sea, he has taken any disciplinary measures or effected any changes of personnel at the Admiralty, or taken any steps of reorganisation tending to prevent a recurrence of such incidents; and, if not, whether he will state his intentions with regard to his own tenure of office?

My right hon. Friend the First Lord hopes to deal fully with this, incident in the course of his statement to the House to-morrow.

Has my right hon. Friend considered this point? As the Admiralty draws the veil of mystery over their whole proceedings we can only judge by results, and one of those results has been deplorably bad.

If my hon. Friend will wait to hear the First Lord's statement he will not find there is any mystery about it. Quite the contrary.

Will the First Lord deal with the allegation that the inadequacy of the patrol is due to a deficiency in fuel?

I myself have seen that stated. I think I can deny that at once, whether the First Lord deals with, it or not.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say whether the principle of the new First Lord is that everything done by his Department is perfect, and nothing deserves censure?

I do not know how by the wildest flight of imagination that could possibly arise out of anything I have said.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty, in view of the fact that promotion from commander to captain is the final occasion when selection for promotion operates in the Navy, whether he can state if the decision to promote a commander is arrived at by a selection board, and, if so, who compose it?

Promotions from the rank of commander to captain are made in batches twice a year, and the selection is made by the First Lord of the Admiralty on the advice of his naval colleagues on the Board. Apart from this, a few promotions to captain are made at other times for very special war services, and these are not necessarily referred to all the Sea Lords.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether the Board can now see their way to lay upon the Table the Report of the Committee on Promotion presided over by the late Lord Goschen in 1902; and whether, in coming to a decision, he will bear in mind that the ex-First Lord of the Admiralty desired its publication?

The present Board of Admiralty adhere to the view held by their predecessors that it is not desirable to publish the Report, which is now fifteen years old. It may be added that Lord Goschen, who presided over the Com- mittee, said that he was quite content to leave the question of any publication entirely to the Admiralty.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he is aware that the Board have power to select captains or commodores for promotion; whether he is aware that the Board have power to give to any captain the temporary or local rank of rear-admiral of a higher rank; and whether the Board will exercise those powers if the interests of the country demand it?

The Board of Admiralty are fully aware of the powers which they possess under the Crown, and will continue to exercise them in the best interests of the country and of the Naval Service.

But the right hon. Gentleman does not state specifically that they have got those powers. Is it the case that they have got those powers, and can exercise them at any time?

I think that is so.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether ex-Regular officers who belong to the Reserve of Officers and who, before the War, were appointed secretaries of County Territorial Associations, are eligible for promotion under A.C.I. 1,252, of 1917; and, if not, will he, in view of the fact that such officers have frequently volunteered for active service, but that it has been found impossible for county associations to spare them from their numerous duties, issue instructions enabling these officers who have rendered signal service to the country to be promoted in a similar manner to those ex-Regular officers on the Reserve who are recalled to Army service?

The question is already under consideration.

asked whether it is proposed to retain in the Army all cases of nerve strain occurring among soldiers, with a view to keeping them under treatment in military hospitals till recovery is complete?

The policy is to retain all cases likely to be categorised as fit for some form of military duty. Those likely not to be so fit are retained until they can be transferred to the Pensions Ministry.

asked whether it is proposed to recall for treatment, under military control, soldiers invalided through nerve strain who have already been discharged from the Army?

No, Sir; I am not aware of any such proposal.

asked the Pensions Minister whether instructions have been given to local committees to provide appropriate convalescent homes for ex-soldiers suffering from nerve strain who have been discharged unrecovered to their homes?

Local war pensions committees are empowered to provide convalescent treatment for discharged disabled men whatever she nature of their disablement. The policy of providing special institutions for the class referred to, except in so far as they are suffering from neurasthenia in a severe form and are in need of special medical treatment is, in the opinion of my advisers, open to serious question. The provision of convalescent homes generally is, however, stated to be inadequate in certain districts, and I am instituting inquiry into the matter with a view to remedying the deficiency where it exists.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War (1) whether he will take steps to amend the Army Act, 1881, so as to provide that all offences against military discipline shall be tried by a military judge and a jury of soldiers instead of by courts-martial consisting solely of officers; (2) whether, in view of a recent judgment of the Court of Cassation in Paris quashing the death sentence and all the proceedings of a court-martial in 1914, though the death sentence had been carried out, he will give facilities to relatives of soldiers executed for alleged offences against military discipline to examine the records of the courts-martial by which such sentences were imposed, with a view of securing a revision of the sentences and the clearing of the reputation of the executed men; (3) the Prime Minister whether he is prepared to recommend to the Army Council the advisability of amending the Army Act so that death sentences cannot be passed upon men who, being engaged in defending their country, should be immune from death penalties for alleged infractions of discipline?

The reply is in each case in the negative.

Does the hon. Gentleman consider it satisfactory that men should be condemned to death after having been tried by men who have no experience of weighing evidence?

I cannot accept the facts as my hon. Friend has placed them before the House. I can assure him that all my investigations have led me to believe that trial by court-martial is one of the fairest.

Is it not a fact that, in the case of Irish soldiers, one man named Hope was executed under cruel circumstances?

Of course, I am not aware of this particular case.

I have brought it to the notice of the House before.

Assuming that the hon. Member has brought it to the notice of the House before, I can assure him that in each case where the death sentence takes place the most careful and most thorough investigation is made.

Can my hon. Friend say how long it is since he became prejudiced against the ordinary legal methods of procedure?

As a matter of fact, I am not dealing with civil life. I have been connected with civil life as well as my bon. Friend. I am dealing with what is the law of the land. This is in the Army Act. It has been passed by this House year after year.

Will the hon. Gentleman say whether such sentences are referred to the Army Council as the supreme authority in this country before being carried into effect?

They go up by various stages to the Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief.

Is it the practice nowadays to refer court-martial proceedings in which sentence of death has been passed for the consideration of the Judge-Advocate-General, as used to be the case?

It is necessary.

asked the Undersecretary if he will have inquiry made into the case of late Private No. A/6730, 2nd Battalion. Royal Scots Fusiliers, who was sentenced to death after trial by court-martial to be shot for on active service deserting His Majesty's service, and who was executed on the 29th day of August last, seeing that this soldier was only twenty-one years of age and five months before he had been invalided home suffering severely from shell shock; if he will ascertain if the offence for which this young man was executed was that when he was on his way to the trenches a shell burst close by him, and, being already completely nerve-shattered, he walked away from his regiment; and if he had since his return to the front up to the time of his desertion suffered terribly with pains in the head?

No, Sir; I am not prepared to interfere with the discretion of the Field-Marshal Commanding in Chief, who only confirms the proceedings in cases of this character after the fullest consideration.

Is the War Office prepared to allow a scandal like this to go without inquiry, where a mere boy overcome with nervousness was executed?

I have not all the facts at my disposal, and I have not had time to read the case, but, having gone into a number of these cases sympathetically, I am convinced that in each case the utmost consideration was given to the relevant facts, brought forward very often by medical officers. I am quite convinced that cases of this sort are most carefully considered.

Does the hon. Gentleman think he is considering the interests of the Army by sending shell-shocked soldiers back to the front?

How is it that young lads of tender years who fail in their duty are shot, while generals are promoted?

As the hon. Member has admitted that there are numbers of these cases— —

dissented.

The hon. Gentleman admitted that he had looked into numbers of these cases, and therefore there must be numbers; and, if there are numbers, will he consider the setting up of some committee or tribunal which will consider them generally, especially in view of the very strong feeling on the subject?

Has the hon. Gentleman considered these cases after the execution or before?

Has the hon. Gentleman investigated the allegations in this question?

As I have already stated, I have had no opportunity of investigating the facts of this case.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that this information was communicated in such a way as to make it offensive?

Is it not the case that no execution of this kind takes place without the whole of the facts being brought before the Field-Marshal Commanding in Chief?

Not only is that true, but the case is carefully investigated in all its aspects, legal and otherwise, before it comes to the Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief. The Field-Marshal is just as anxious about the lives of his soldiers as my hon. Friend who is putting this question, and my right hon. Friend, who was two or three years at the War Office in my position, will, I think, support me that in each case the greatest possible care is taken and everything possible that can be said in favour of the man accused is put forward.

Does the hon. Gentleman think it fair——

Hon. Members had better put down any further questions.

asked whether any arrangement exists for granting leave home to Great Britain and Ireland to the many officers and men in the Regular and Territorial Armies who, in many cases, have been away in India and Mesopotamia for two or three years, and may have spent two years or more in the fierce heat of the places on the rivers of Mesopotamia, and are in need of a change to their native air?

It is only in the most exceptional instances that leave is granted to this country from Mesopotamia. A fairly large percentage of the troops there have been allowed to proceed on leave to India, but even this leave is necessarily restricted by the same lack of transport, which makes leave to this country practically impossible. As I stated recently, my Noble Friend the Secretary of State has been specially interesting himself in the question of leave from distant theatres of war, in the hope that it may be possible to facilitate leave.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been called to the fact that many men on leave from the front arrive at the large railway centre at Shrewsbury on Sundays and are unable to proceed to their homes in consequence of the absence of train service on that day; if he is aware that gentlemen, at their own expense, have up to now motored these men to their homes, in some cases as far as forty miles, but owing to lack of petrol are no longer able to do so; and whether, under these circumstances, he will allow the chief of the police a small amount of petrol to be used for this purpose and no other, in order to save this tedious delay to our soldiers, whose leave is in most cases of short duration?

I will have inquiry made into this matter, and consider whether any steps of the nature suggested are necessary.

asked whether under any Army Council Instruction having the force of law on the subject of call- ing up to and exemption from military service different rules are enjoined as regards persons ordained to priests' and deacons' orders in the Church of England as by law established, on the one hand, and persons in that church and in the Roman Catholic Church who have taken definite religious vows not recognised by the ecclesiastical laws and customs sanctioned by Parliament, on the other; and if he can specify any monastic orders which qualify for exemption?

Persons ordained to priests' or deacons' orders, whether in the Church of England or the Roman Catholic Church, are men in Holy Orders, and within the exceptions to the Military Service Acts, provided that they were ordained before the appointed date applicable to them. As to persons who have taken definite religious vows, under current instructions, if they are working under religious vows and are officially recognised by the authorities of their denominations, they are not called up without reference to the War Office, or, as from the 1st November, to the Ministry of National Service, when each case is investigated and decided on its own merits.

asked whether men are still being transferred to Class W, Army Reserve, under what circumstances, and up to what age; whether men in Class W receive any pay; and whether, so long as they remain in that class, they are eligible for pensions or are entitled to receive any financial help from the local War Pensions Committees?

The answer to the first part of my hon. and learned Friend's question is in the affirmative. There is no age limit. Men in Class W. receive Army pay for their first week of civil life, or first two weeks if transferred in substitution; they are eligible for a pension if found to be suffering from a disability due to Army service. The answer to the last part of the question is in the affirmative, subject to certain conditions. I will send my hon. and learned Friend a copy of the regulations on the subject, which will give him fuller details.

Are they entitled to a pension when still in Class W, or must they be discharged?

I have said that they are eligible for a pension if found to be suffering from a disability due to Army service.

Is my hon. Friend aware that a great many of these men transferred to Class W are suffering from actual wounds and the loss of a leg or an arm, and while in Class W they cannot get their pension? Will he make the men who are transferred to Class W, suffering from these disabilities, eligible for pensions at once?

That is a very large subject and it would be more appropriate to address that question to the Minister of Pensions.

I do not know that the hon. Gentleman is right in assuming that this question comes within the purview of the Minister of Pensions. They are in Class W and are in the Army.

I will carefully consider the question along with the Pensions Minister.

Is it not a fact that the Pensions Minister made strong representations to the War Office against this scandal?

My own impression is that all these men are discharged. [HON. MEMBERS: "No!"] If my hon. Friends will give me any specific cases I will have them carefully inquired into.

asked whether a repatriated soldier who has been a prisoner of war is entitled to a full discharge; and, when these men secure employment on condition that they are discharged, why obstacles should be put in their way?

A repatriated soldier who has been a prisoner of war is considered for purposes of discharge in the same manner as any other soldier. I am not clear as to what my hon. Friend refers to in the last part of the question. Perhaps he will give me further details.

asked whether the War Office has instructed its representatives as to what age a person has to reach before he has a conscience; and whether it is with the War Office concurrence that the military representative at Birmingham has appealed against the exemption granted to Harold Russell Simmons, stating as his reason for doing so that Simmons is too young to know what conscience means?

No instructions of the nature of those referred to by my hon. Friend in his question have been issued to military representatives. My hon. Friend will no doubt appreciate that the age of a person claiming exemption on conscientious grounds is an important factor which should be considered, and the Central Tribunal have so decided in one of their reported cases.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he will take steps to stop the conduct of the officers and non-commissioned officers of No. 1 Northern Company, Non-Combatant Corps, France, who consistently pursue a policy of persecution and coercion of the men, with a view to breaking their resistance to combatant service and forcing them to transfer to other units, seeing that the men, having by persistent hard work and exemplary conduct kept their part of the bargain, are determined to resist this persecution if it is continued?

If my hon. Friend will give me specific instances, I will consider the matter, but he will realise that it is impossible for me to make inquiries into general allegations of this nature.

If I send the hon. Gentleman particulars will the men be protected?

I have already told the House that if any hon. Member cares to send me particulars relating to any case the soldier would be immune from disciplinary action.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that a soldier who sent a letter to a Select Committee of this House was punished, and that punishment still stands against him?

I know nothing about that. I am speaking for myself. If hon. Members write letters to the War Office about a particular grievance concerning a soldier, the soldier will be immune from disciplinary action.

Is it not a fact that the Army Council have refused to cancel that punishment?

asked the Prime Minister what answer the War Cabinet has returned to the memorial submitted from Dartmoor to the War Cabinet on behalf of the conscientious objectors employed in Home Office camps; and whether he will circulate the memorial to the House as a Parliamentary Paper?

The Prime Minister has asked me to reply to this question. The memorial referred to complained of the work allotted to the men employed under the Committee on Employment of Conscientious Objectors, and asked that the men should receive certificates of exemption from all forms of military service and should be freed from the contingency which alone enables the Committee to maintain discipline among them, namely, that in case of misconduct they should be returned to prison or to the Army. These are proposals which the Government cannot entertain, and no answer has been returned to the memorial. I do not propose to circulate it.

asked the Prime Minister whether nineteen New Zealanders, conscientious objectors to military service, have, after serving a term of imprisonment in New Zealand, been forcibly deported to this country and confined in irons at Sling Camp, Salisbury; and that some of these men have already been sent to France; whether this is in accordance with the promises made by the late Prime Minister and other Members of the Government; and whether steps will be taken to return these men from France and to treat them in accordance with the procedure set up by the Government in other cases?

I understand from the New Zealand authorities that the only class of conscientious objector recognised there are: "Those who have been members of a religious body, the tenets and doctrines of which religious body declare the bearing of arms and the performance of any combatant service to be contrary to Divine revelation, and that, according to their own conscientious religious belief, the bearing of arms and the performance of any combatant service is unlawful, by reason of being contrary to Divine revelation." No conscientious objectors coming within this category have been sent to England from New Zealand. Ten men who did not fall within its terms recently arrived with reinforcements, but under New Zealand law are treated as soldiers.

Will the hon. Gentleman point out to the authorities responsible for sending the men here that conscientious objectors are not wanted in France?

No. I am not prepared to interfere with the discretion of the New Zealand Government.

Is it a fact that these men were placed on shipboard in New Zealand in irons?

I have no information to that effect.

Is there any prospect of the Government taking the same sensible view with regard to this conscientious objector question which is taken by the New Zealand authorities?

asked the Home Secretary the reason for not allowing conscientious objectors who are granted leave under special circumstances the subsistence allowance of 1s. 7d. per day, in view of the fact that these men are only receiving 4s. 8d. per week wages and cannot provide their own subsistence when on leave out of such an amount as this?

The hon. Member is misinformed. The Committee on Employment of Conscientious Objectors are not under any obligation to provide for the subsistence of a man to whom leave is granted in special circumstances; but where a man to whom such leave is granted could not otherwise provide for his own subsistence, or where the provision of his subsistence would entail substantial hardship on his relatives or friends, the Committee have discretion to grant, and do grant, an allowance up to a maximum of 1s. 7d. a day.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether it is the practice of the medical examiners to pass for soldiers men who have only one eye; and, if so, can he say how many soldiers with this disqualification are at present in the Army?

My hon. Friend is right in suggesting that some men with only one eye have been passed for the lower categories of combatant service, those known as B 1 and C 1; but none of these are now being passed for any category of combatant service. At the present time men who have lost the sight of one eye, if otherwise fit, are passed only for one or other of the auxiliary services of the Army.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that there are many men in the front trenches to-day with only one eye? I am speaking of the front trenches, and not of London.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether soldiers who volunteered for the Motor Transport as far back as 1914, and have been three years in the theatre of war, are now being transferred to Infantry battalions after two or three weeks' training and their places taken by newly-arrived conscripts; and, if so, whether this is, in the view of his Department, the best way of utilising the motor engineering skill of the first-named men?

Young men of Category A are being transferred from the Army Service Corps Mechanical Transport to the Infantry under the Army (Transfers) Act, 1915. Men are tested before transfer to ascertain whether their skill as motor engineers justifies their retention.

Does not this mean a breach of contract with these men? Is the conscience of the War Office never troubled about such matters?

There is no breach of contract. The Army authorities are entitled to transfer any man from one unit to another under the Army (Transfers) Act.

In transferring these men can the Army authorities reduce their pay if they still remain efficient at their old jobs?

I am not quite sure of that. Perhaps my hon. Friend will put down a question.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that discontent has been expressed with the arrangement made by his Department to preserve and maintain the waseful and food-destroying sport of foxhunting; that tons of valuable oats are, in consequence, being used to feed thousands of horses that will never be required by his Department; that the working classes regard this arrangement as an evasion to preserve aristocratic sports at the expense of the nation's food supply; whether, as the public have had to abandon county cricket, and the majority of football, and most race meetings, he will see the injustice of his Department's attempt to preserve this sport; and whether, instead of this arrangement with masters of foxhounds, he will take steps to place the Army horse supply on a business-like footing which shall not entail a waste of the nation's food?

I explained to my hon. Friend last February the vital necessity to the Army of maintaining hunts, and I am afraid I can add nothing to what I then said. The object in view is the continuance of the breeding and raising of horses suitable for cavalry work. The Army have moreover claim on all horses used in hunt establishments which are suitable for military purposes, and I cannot agree with the sanguine hope expressed by my hon. Friend that it will never be necessary to make this claim effective.

asked the Under-Secretary whether his attention has been called to the condition of the British prisoners captured at Kut; and whether any proposals have been made for the exchange of prisoners with Turkey?

The condition of all British prisoners of war in Turkey is a matter of constant anxiety to His Majesty's Government. We have repeatedly approached the Turkish Government on this matter, and we have expressed our willingness to send representatives to meet representatives of the Turkish Government for the purpose of discussing terms. I am sorry to say that so far we have received no definite reply.

Has the question of the exchange of prisoners been suggested?

The suggestion to exchange prisoners was made many months ago, but the reply of the Turkish Government suggested proposals which made the whole thing futile.

Have we more Turkish prisoners than they have British?

I think so.

asked the Under-Secretary whether he has any information regarding the use by the enemy of British-made guns and shells in France or Flanders against our forces?

It has been definitely ascertained that a British 4.5-inch howitzer, captured by the Germans on the Eastern front, was being used by them in Flanders at the beginning of October.

Has my hon. Friend no further information except in connection with one gun?

I gave the House and my hon. Friend the one piece of definite information that I had.

asked the Under-Secretary whether he has any information as to the number of British troops and British guns, if any, taken prisoners and captured by the German and Austrian forces on the Italian front during the recent enemy advance?

No information has been received from Italy of the loss of any British troops or guns. I am glad to say that the latest reports indicate that the British guns have been successfully withdrawn.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether currency notes of smaller denomination than Rs.5 have yet been or when such will be issued; and at what figure the silver reserve at present stands?

The first issues of the new notes—for 2½ and 1 rupees—will probably be made at a very early date. The silver in the paper currency reserve on the 22nd October stood at 2,914 lakhs (£19,427,000).

asked the Secretary for India whether he can give the House any information regarding the action taken by the Government of India or the Government of Madras upon the resolutions of the United Planters' Association of Southern India asking that the import of outside tea into British India should be prohibited in order to relieve the situation caused by war conditions and the present restriction of imports; that the Government should purchase the stock of coffee now remaining in India; and that early attention should be given to the question of providing a fair share of available tonnage for the export of tea, coffee, and rubber from Madras, Tuticorin, and Malabar ports?

The question of excluding foreign tea from India has been considered, but it has been decided to take no action. The position has already been improved by the provision of increased shipping facilities, and should be further improved by the proposed arrangements for ensuring regular supplies to this country. Measures have been taken to relieve the situation created in the coffee industry of Southern India by import restrictions. The prohibition has been relaxed to the extent of half this year's crop, and notwithstanding freight difficulties a fair amount has been shipped. Special measures for the storage of the unshipped portion of the crop have been taken. No proposals to purchase unsold stocks have been received from the Government of India. The latter part of the hon. Member's question should be addressed to the Shipping Controller.

asked what steps are being taken by the Government of India to further the erection of wheat elevators in India?

I understand that the Punjab Government are constructing, as an experimental measure, an elevator at Lyallpur, the centre of the wheat trade of the Punjab. The War has delayed its completion. Until the system has been practically tried, its suitability to Indian agricultural conditions cannot be confidently predicted.

asked if presents of tobacco and cigarettes sent to soldiers in India are admitted free of duty; and, if so, why the same privilege is not accorded to the officers?

The concessions already granted are as stated by the Secretary of State in reply to the hon. Member for the College Division of Glasgow on 21st June last. After careful consideration of various proposals, the Government of India have decided that they cannot further extend these concessions.

Is it fair to allow presents of cigarettes and tobacco for soldiers to go in duty free and not to give the same privileges to officers?

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that this privilege is granted by France to our soldiers and officers, and ought not India to treat them as well as France treats them?

I was not aware of the fact.

asked the Secretary for India whether the petition presented to the Viceroy and Governor-General of India in May, 1916, by the commanders and senior lieutenants of the Royal Indian Marine has yet been considered; and, if so, whether he can now state the terms of the reply?

No information is available here regarding the petition in question. But the Government of India have proposed certain measures which were sanctioned in May and July last respectively, namely:

Will the right hon. Gentleman call for petition in question?

I will inquire.

asked whether Sir Sankaran Nair is now the Education Minister in the Viceroy's Council; if so, whether in his official capacity he is now inaugurating the reforms which he previously advocated; and what progress is being made with primary education in India?

The answer to the first question is in the affirmative, and also to the second, with the qualification that the restrictions imposed on expenditure by the War have delayed progress in education, especially in primary education, greatly to the regret of the Government of India. The extension of primary education is closely connected with the political and administrative questions that are to be studied this winter by the Secretary of State and the Government of India.

As the right hon. Gentleman is spending more in war time on education than in peace, will he not represent that the Government of India should do the same?

asked the Secretary of State for India whether he has official information that Indian labourers have gone to Canada to do agricultural work; if so, under what conditions were they recruited and transported; and whether the indentured system of coolie recruitment of labour has now entirely ceased?

There is no such information. As already announced, the recruitment of indentured labour from India has been stopped and will not be revived.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether, in view of the fact that for some time the price of silver has been above the equivalent of 1s. 4d. to the rupee, the Indian Government has incurred any loss in supplying the necessary rupees for military operations in Mesopotamia and other places, and, if so, can he state the amount of the loss and how it will ultimately be met; whether the Indian Government has drawn on its reserve of rupees coined before the rise in silver, replacing them in India by a currency of notes of a low valuation; can he state the amount of the new issue of small notes; whether this form of currency is as acceptable to the native population as the metallic currency to which they have been so long accustomed; and whether the Indian Government is prepared to consider the advisability of joining in any movement to stabilise the price of silver and mitigate the constant oscillations and gambling in this currency medium?

The purchases of silver above parity have been very recent. There is no reason to believe that rupees coined from such silver have gone to Mesopotamia. This being so, the second and third parts of the question do not arise. As the proposed notes for 2½ and 1 rupees have not yet been issued, the answer to the fourth part is in the negative; and the fifth and sixth parts cannot yet be answered. With regard to the last part, the Secretary of State would, of course, consider anything put before him from a responsible quarter.

Will the right hon. Gentleman endeavour to persuade the Indian Government to modify the hostile attitude towards silver which they have adopted of late years?

I was not aware that there was any hostile attitude.

asked the Prime Minister whether, in view of the loyalty of our Indian fellow subjects as shown by their help in the War, he will take the opportunity of the visit of the Secretary of State for India to summon a representative conference of all the leaders of Indian thought to consider the future government of India?

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for India proposes while in India to hear, in company with the Viceroy, the views of those who are representative of Indian opinion. I do not think that it would be helpful, even if practicable, to proceed by means of a general conference.

asked the Prime Minister if he intends to set aside 31st October as a day of national celebration and thanksgiving for the heroic defence made in the Ypres sector by the British Expeditionary Force, and by which the fate of Europe was saved?

The Government do not think it desirable to take the course suggested by my hon. and gallant Friend.

asked the Prime Minister whether the skilled workmen who went from Woolwich to Krupps when Lord Haldane reduced the establishment at Woolwich are still in prison in Germany; and whether they were put in prison before war was declared and not even allowed to see their wives?

If the hon. and gallant Member will supply me with the names of the workmen in question, I will make inquiry as to their present whereabouts.

May I ask if all British subjects in the German Empire are interned at the present time?

No, I think that there are some exceptions.

asked the Prime Minister whether, in view of the hundreds of thousands of sailors and soldiers who want to settle on the land of the United Kingdom after the War, and in view of the admitted urgency of the matter, he can now say when the Government intend to buy the necessary land; and whether, powers for compulsory purchase will be provided if these should be necessary?

I can add nothing to the answer given to my hon. Friend on the 18th.

asked the Prime Minister whether, in view of the fact that London has been of late repeatedly and successfully raided by aeroplanes and by Zeppelins, the War Cabinet has ever had in consideration a plan calculated to deal effectually with such enemy attacks; whether any changes have been made in the personnel of the Services controlling London's air defence; and, if so, whether he will make a complete statement on the point?

I have nothing to add to the very full statements which have already been made to the House on this subject.

Might I ask how far the Government is prepared to defend incapacity? Is it realised that incapacity means defeat?

I think that is a difficult question to answer, but judging by my observation in this House, the hon. Member will be able to judge of it as well as myself.

Will the right hon. Gentleman say now when the Government will be ready to introduce their proposals with regard to the Air Ministry?

As I have said, I hope that this Bill will be introduced next week, but before it is introduced we desire that it should be carefully considered by the Army Council. As it happens, the Chief of the Staff is on the Continent, where he will be for most of this week, and that has caused the delay.

asked the Prime Minister whether, if the present shortage of breakfast-table necessaries corresponds to the conditions of supply of the country, he will bring the matter to the attention of the War Cabinet, in order that a general scheme of rationing may be introduced without delay; and whether, if the supply of foodstuffs is such as to render that step inadvisable, he will announce radical changes in the office of the Food Controller, beginning with the head?

As regards the first part of the question, the Food Controller will not hesitate to recommend to the Cabinet a system of compulsory rationing should such a course become, in his opinion, necessary. The answer to the second part is in the negative.