Suggested Reconsideration of Sentence on Stoker Moody. SIR SEYMOUR KING (Hull, Central): To ask the Secretary to the Admiralty whether the time has arrived when the sentence passed on Stoker Moody might be again reconsidered, and a further remission of sentence granted. (Answered by Mr. Edmund Robertson.) The Amiralty have decided that the case shall be brought up for review before Moody has completed two years of his sentence. Flogging in Prisons. MR. PATRICK WHITE: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, when a convict is sentenced to be flogged, more than one warder has ever been employed to administer the flogging. (Answered by Mr. Secretary Gladstone.) As a rule only one warder is employed, but in a recent case, where four convicts had to be punished, two warders were employed. Board of Agriculture Offices. MR. LANE-FOX (Yorkshire, W.R., Barkston Ash): To ask the First Commissioner of Works what premises are at present occupied by the Board of Agriculture, and what are the rents which are being paid for them. (Answered by Mr. Harcourt.) I beg leave to refer the hon. Member to the full Answer which I gave to a similar Question (non-oral) by the hon. Member for the Rye Division on the 24th ultimo. Imperial Contribution to Upkeep of the relations between the Exchequer and local taxation generally, which, as the hon. Member is probably aware, are receiving the careful consideration of the Government. Protecting Certificate for Private Collumb, (Answered by Mr. Secretary Haldane.) On 20th January a letter was received from this man's father stating that his son was in hospital in New York permanently disabled with spinal curvature and asking for a protecting certificate, the man being a deserter from the Royal Fusiliers since July, 1902. He was informed on 28th January that on receipt of a duly certified statement from the hospital authorities the issue of a protective certificate would be considered. No further communication from the father has reached the War Office. Yeomen re-enlisting in the Territorial COLONEL IVOR PHILIPPS (Southampton): To ask the Secretary of State for War whether Yeomen whose present engagements expire after 31st March, 1908, and before the completion of this year's camp-training of their unit, may MR. FFRENCH: To ask Mr. Chan-enlist in the new force for one year; cellor of the Exchequer whether, in if not, what is the shortest period for view of the increase of steam and motor which such men may re-engage or enlist; traffic on the roads, and the difficulty if such men re-enlist in the new force of district councils to bear the increasing will they be allowed to draw the old burden, he will consider the question Yeomanry rate of pay for the 1908 of making some contribution towards training; and may the attestation of the upkeep of the roads. Yeomen serving in the old force and desirous of enlisting in the new force be postponed until the commencement of the annual training of their unit in order to give commanding officers an (Answered by Mr. Asquith.) I do not think that this question can properly be dealt with except in connection with opportunity of explaining the new condi- the interest which may be, or is, due tions of service to their men. upon them. THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR WAR (Mr. HALDANE, Haddington): No drill halls will be taken over by the Public Works Loan Commissioners. Property on which there is a mortgage held by the Commissioners will be transferred to the County Association with the mortgage. If any property on which there is a mortgage held by persons other than the Commissioners is transferred to the Association the question of transferring the mortgage to the Commissioners will be considered in the autumn. In the case of any property transferred to a County Association subject to mortgage, the interest will be paid, as it becomes due, by the County Association out of funds provided by the War Office. (Answered by Mr. Secretary Haldane.) Yeomen whose engagements were due to expire on a date subsequent to 31st March may enlist in the Territorial Force to complete such period, but if they wish to continue service on its completion they must re-engage for the period prescribed by their County Association, which will not be less than one year or more than four years, and must come under the new conditions as regards pay, etc. Any man whose term of service was due to expire after 31st March, and before the 1908 training, who, at the end of the 1907 training or subsequently before 31st March, 1908, re-engaged for a further year in accordance with Paragraph 66, Yeomanry Regulations, will be permitted to enlist in the Territorial Force to complete the term of his engagement still to run, including that further EARL WINTERTON (Sussex, year, and will retain the old rates of Horsham) was understood to ask if the pay during such period. Yeomen en- right hon. Gentleman would consider rolled before 18th August, 1901, who the possibility of paying off all the have not since come under The Militia | mortgages. and Yeomanry Act, 1901, may be attested for one year as from 31st March, just paid off an 1908, and retain their existing rate of pay, etc., for that period. Attestation may be postponed until 30th June, but no man will be trained until he has been attested. Men who have signified their intention of attesting, and who cannot conveniently be attested before training, may be brought to training and at once attested. They will draw no pay until they have been attested, and if they do not attest immediately on joining training they will be discharged. Men whose attestations have been deferred until after the date of expiration of their Imperial Yeomanry engagement will, if they wish to join the Territorial Force, be obliged to re-enlist for the full period of four years. QUESTIONS IN THE HOUSE. MR. HALDANE mortgages. said they had enormous number of MR. FELL asked whether the interest due would be paid as well as the mortgages? MR. HALDANE said that if there had been interest in arrear they had paid it off. Military Manoeuvres in the New Forest. SIR ROBERT HOBART (Hampshire, New Forest): I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War, whether he has received a communication from the Court of Verderers of the New Forest in which Volunteer Drill Halls. MR. FELL (Great Yarmouth): I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War if, in taking over the drill halls from the MR. HALDANE: The War Office Volunteers, the Public Loan Works received a communication from the Board will advance the money, not Verderers which was duly forwarded. It is understood that my hon. friend has already received a reply from that office on the subject pointing out that the Verderers are entirely mistaken in their contention. MR. ASHLEY (Lancashire, Blackpool) asked whether the right hon. Gentleman was aware that the Act of 1897 expressly stated that no manoeuvres could take place in the New Forest without the Verderers being consulted? MR. HALDANE: As I have already explained, we are not conducting the manœuvres under the Manoeuvres Act, but by arrangement with the Commissioners of Woods and Forests. MR. ASHLEY asked whether, if the manœuvres were not conducted under this Act, the only remedy for any poor commoner whose property was damaged would be long and expensive litigation. against the right hon. Gentleman, whereas under the Act, compensation could be received easily. MR. HALDANE: The hon. Member is quite wrong. We conducted extensive manœuvres last summer in Scotland quite apart from the Manoeuvres Act, and most friendly relations obtained between the War Office and everybody else. We paid everybody their claims, and, in addition, we took the stores we wanted from the local people, so that it was far more popular than any arbitrary manœuvres. MR. ASHLEY asked whether the right hon. Gentleman was aware that clauses were expressly put in the Act of 1897 in order that any manoeuvres in the New Forest might be carried out in accordance therewith. MR. HALDANE said that if they were putting compulsory powers in operation, no doubt that was so; but if they were acting on a friendly agreement with the people concerned they did not need to take that course. MR. ASHLEY asked whether the right hon. Gentleman had come to a friendly agreement with the hon. Member for the New Forest. MR. HALDANE said he had the Member for the New Forest, but he greatest regard for his hon. friend the was not the whole of the public. EARL WINTERTON: No, but he is the official Verderer of the New Forest. Irish Militia Battalions. CAPTAIN CRAIG (Down, E.): I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War whether he can state the number of recruits who have joined the Special Reserves or extra Special Reserves regiments between 16th January, 1908, and 31st March, 1908, with the corresponding Return for the same period of Militia recruits for the year 1907; and would he further give a detailed statement in regard to the above for the Militia battalions of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, the Royal Irish Rifles, and the Royal Irish Fusiliers. *MR. HALDANE: The figures available are for the period 16th January, 1908, to 28th March, 1908, for the Special Reserve, and 14th January, 1907, to 30th March, 1907, for the Militia. The figures are as follows CAPTAIN CRAIG: I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War whether it is intended to take away recruits of the 3rd Battalion Royal Irish Rifles from Newtownards, County Down, and of the 5th Battalion of the same regiment from Downpatrick, for six months annual drill at the depot in Belfast; whether he is aware of the great difficulties which will be added to obtaining suitable country recruits if these two important centres are done away with; whether he has received any memorial from the local inhabitants of Downpatrick and Newtownards bearing on the loss which would consequently fall on the tradespeople in the two towns; whether he can say if the advice of the commanding officers of these two regiments was asked for by the War Office authorities as to the proposed change; and what was the nature of the advice they gave. MR. HALDANE: It is intended that the recruits of these two battalions shall drill on enlistment at the depot in Belfast, so far as accommodation permits. This change has been made in consequence of the general scheme of re-organisation and experience alone can shew what effect such change can have on recruiting. The general scheme was not referred to these commanding officers for their advice. No memorials on this subject from the towns mentioned appear to have reached the War Office. MR. T. L. CORBETT (Down, N.): May I ask if the right hon. Gentleman is aware that particularly suitable accommodation for camping grounds and rifle ranges exists round Newtownards and Downpatrick, and that it will be very difficult to obtain land near Belfast for the purpose? MR. HALDANE: What the hon. Member says will be quite true of the annual training of the Reserve forces, but what I am speaking of is the preliminary recruit training of six months which will take place in winter, when the men do not camp out. CAPTAIN CRAIG: May I ask whether those two ancient regiments, the 3rd Royal Irish Rifles and the 5th Royal from their home depots without the commanding officers being in any way consulted in so important a matter? MR. HALDANE: They have been taken away in pursuance of a general scheme which was bound to involve a good many changes in accordance with the changed nature of the training. CAPTAIN CRAIG : Then these regiments are to be severed from all county association with Down ? MR. T. L. CORBETT: Will the right hon. Gentleman before he comes to a final decision consult the commanding officers? MR. HALDANE: It is decided. CAPTAIN CRAIG: This is a very important point for the whole County of Down, and it is only just known to a number of officers. May I ask whether it is too late to reconsider this matter? If the local inhabitants in Newtownards and Downpatrick present a memorial to the War Office will it be considered? MR. HALDANE: We have gone very carefully into the matter, but there will be ample time to consider all these things as experience goes on. General Sir Neville Lyttelton, who, as Chief of the General Staff, advised us on these matters, succeeds to the chief command in Ireland to-morrow, and will take up his duties in a few days, and no one is more capable of forming an opinion on the practical necessities of the matter. Militia Battalion Colours. LORD J. JOICEY-CECIL (Lincolnshire, Stamford): I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War whether he can see his way to authorising the payment of the same allowances for railway travelling, etc., to the officers of a disbanded battalion of Militia, who attended the parade for handing over the colours to the Lord-Lieutenant, as they would have received on joining their battalion for annual training and dismissal from training. MR. HALDANE: The same regulated to the escort for the colours of a Regular | free quarters varies from 11 to 18 cents unit under Paragraph 1769 of the King's a day. No change has been made in the Regulations will be allowed for a similar minimum money wage payable to the escort for handing over the colours of a indentured labourer. The Answer to disbanded Militia unit. the last part of the hon. Member's Question is in the negative. Trinidad Immigration Ordinance. MR. SUMMERBELL: I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies if he can state the terms of the amended Immigration Ordinance recently passed in Trinidad and Tobago; whether any change will ensue as to the wage paid to the free labourer; if so, what is the amount; whether any change is made as to the wage paid to the indentured immigrant; if so, what is the amount; and further, as to whether the Select Committee that went into the matter of the Immigration Ordinance found that the indentured man had not been getting the minimum wage agreed upon as a general rule. Persian Customs Service. MR. WEDGWOOD (Newcastle-underLyme): I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the important posts in the Persian customs service are held at present by Belgian subjects, and in particular are the chief Customs officers at Bandar Abbas and at other Gulf ports Belgians; and if so, will His Majesty's Government use their influence with the Persian Government to induce them to give Englishmen the preference in any such appointments or reappointments within the British sphere of influence in Persia. THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY TO THE TREASURY (Mr. RUNCIMAN, Dewsbury; for Sir EDWARD GREY): The employees of the Persian Customs Service are Belgian subjects. His Majesty's Government do not propose to make any suggestion to the Persian Government calculated to disturb existing arrangements unnecessarily. MR. WEDGWOOD: I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has any official information showing that the Persian Government contemplate replacing the Belgians now in the Persian Customs Service by Germans; and whether His Majesty's Government are prepared to sanction the institution of officials of German nationality in the ports or cities within the British sphere of influence in Persia. MR. CHURCHILL : The Ordinance in question provides that, in the computation of the average rate of wages payMR. RUNCIMAN: No such inforable for task work performed by in- mation has been received. My right dentured labourers, there shall be taken hon. friend is informed that the German into account the value of free quarters Government do not desire any change for and medical attendance on such in the nationality of the employees. labourers, upon such scale as may be fixed by the Governor in Council. The object of this Ordinance is to admit of the payment of increased wages to the unindentured labourers. It is impossible to state at present what the increase will amount to, but it is estimated that the value of the medical attendance and Castle Morton School-house. MR. ESSEX (Gloucestershire, Cirencester): I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the occasional licence granted at the Uptonon-Severn Petty Sessions on 6th February was merely an extension of time upon the |