§ "1. That a number of Land Forces, not exceeding 149,500, all ranks, be maintained for the Service of the United Kingdom at Home and abroad, excluding His Majesty's Indian Possessions (other than Aden), during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1936.
§ 2. That a sum, not exceeding £9,478,000, be granted to His Majesty, to defray the Expense of the Pay, etc., of His Majesty's Army at Home and abroad, excluding His Majesty's Indian Possessions (other than Aden), which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1935.
§ 3. That a sum, not exceeding £3,303,000, be granted to His Majesty, to defray the Expense of Works, Buildings, and Lands, including military and civilian staff and other charges in connection therewith, which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1935.
§ 4. That a sum, not exceeding £948,000, be granted to His Majesty, to defray the Expense of Miscellaneous Effective Services, which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1935.
§ 5. That a sum, not exceeding £3,496,000, be granted to His Majesty, to defray the Expense of Rewards, Half-Pay, Retired Pay, Widows' Pensions and other Non-effective Charges for Officers, which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1935.
948§ 6. That a sum, not exceeding £4,465,000, be granted to His Majesty, to defray the Expense of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea; of Out-Pensions, Rewards for Distinguished Service, Widows' Pensions, and other Non-Effective Charges for Warrant Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers. Men, etc., which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1935.
§ 7. That a sum, not exceeding £221,000, be granted to His Majesty, to defray the Expense of Civil Superannuation, Compensation and Additional Allowances, Gratuities, Injury Grants, etc., which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1935."
§ Motion made, and Question proposed, "That this House doth agree with the Committee in the said Resolution."
§ 7.22 p.m.
§ Mr. LAWSONBefore this Vote passes, I wish to ask the Financial Secretary to the War Office some questions as to the new defence corps, the establishment of which he announced on Thursday. I do not know whether it was dut to the charm of the hon. Gentleman's presentation of his case or to the fact that he announced the setting up of this corps among a multitude of graver matters with which he had to deal, but it certainly seems to have attracted more attention from the public outside than it did in this House. I gather that this new defence corps is to be a branch of the Territorial Forces.
§ Mr. SPEAKERI do not think the matter to which the hon. Gentleman is referring comes under Vote A. Is it not a matter which should be raised on the Vote dealing with the Territorial Army?
§ Mr. LAWSONIf that is your Ruling, Mr. Speaker, I shall follow it.
§ Mr. SPEAKERYes, I think that is so. Vote A is concerned only with the number of all ranks in the regular Army.
§ Mr. LAWSONThen I shall allow that matter to pass for the moment and ask my question when the opportunity arises later. I should also like to ask the hon. Gentleman a question about the granting of commissions. I had an answer on Thursday to the effect that out of 611 commissions granted during the last 12 months 25 were granted to non-commissioned officers through cadet colleges, and 46 to warrant officers or 949 quartermasters. It appears to me that the high educational standard to which rankers now attain carries the implication that more commissions should be available for them. It is only a logical development of the improved education of the ranker that he should have further opportunities, and these would be an incentive to a still greater improvement in educational standards in the Army. I understand there is a good deal of dissatisfaction at the slow advance in some regiments.
§ Mr. SPEAKERI am sorry to interrupt the hon. Gentleman again, but I do not think that this matter either comes within Vote A.
§ Mr. LAWSONWould it not be permissible to deal now with the allotment of those commissions that are granted?
§ Mr. SPEAKERThis Vote as the hon. Gentleman will see is confined to the actual number of commissions allotted. The hon. Gentleman can say that there should not have been so many allotted,
§ or that more should have been allotted, but I do not think he can go into the question which he has just raised.
§ Mr. LAWSONI shall let that matter rest for the present.
§ Mr. BUCHANANI do not know if I would be in order in raising the question of reservists' pay.
§ Mr. SPEAKERThat certainly would not come under this Vote.
§ 7.25 p.m.
§ Colonel GOODMANMy reason for intervening is to draw the attention of the House to a paragraph in the Memorandum of the Secretary of State on page 6. It is the third paragraph under the heading "Territorial Army,"
§ Mr. SPEAKERI am afraid that does not come under the Vote either.
§ Question put, "That this House doth agree with the Committee in the said Resolution."
§ The House divided: Ayes, 242; Noes, 39.
951| Division No. 173.] | AYES. | [7.29 p.m. |
| Albery, Irving James | Croom-Johnson, R. P. | Hacking, Rt. Hon. Douglas H. |
| Allen, Lt.-Col. J. Sandeman (B'k'nh'd.) | Cross. R. H. | Hanbury, Cecil |
| Aske, Sir Robert William | Cruddas, Lieut.-Colonel Bernard | Hannon, Patrick Joseph Henry |
| Astor, Maj. Hn. John J. (Kent, Dover) | Culverwell, Cyril Tom | Harbord, Arthur |
| Baillie, Sir Adrian W. M. | Davidson. Rt. Hon. J. C. C. | Harris, Sir Percy |
| Baldwin, Rt. Hon. Stanley | Davies, Maj. Geo. F. (Somerset, Yeovil) | Hartland, George A. |
| Balfour, George (Hampstead) | Despencer-Robertson, Major J. A. F. | Haslam, Sir John (Bolton) |
| Balfour, Capt. Harold (I. of Thanet) | Dick[...]e, John P. | Headlam, Lieut.-Col. Cuthbert M. |
| Barclay-Harvey, C. M. | Doran, Edward | Hellgers, Captain F. F. A. |
| Bateman, A. L. | Duckworth, George A. V. | Henderson, Sir Vivian L. (Chelmsford) |
| Beaumont, Hon. R.E.B. (Portsm'th, C.) | Duggan, Hubert John | Heneage, Lieut. Colonel Arthur P. |
| Belt, Sir Alfred L. | Duncan, James A. L. (Kensington, N.) | Hepworth, Joseph |
| Bernays, Robert | Dunglass, Lord | Holdsworth, Herbert |
| Betterton, Rt. Hon. Sir Henry B. | Eastwood, John Francis | Hornby, Frank |
| Borodale, Viscount | Edmondson, Major A. J. | Horsbrugh, Florence |
| Boulton, W. W. | Ellis, Sir R. Geoffrey | Howard, Tom Forrest |
| Bower, Lieut.-Com. Robert Tatton | Elmley, Viscount | Hudson, Capt. A. U. M. (Hackney, N.) |
| Bowyer, Capt. Sir George E. W. | Emrys-Evans, P. V. | Hudson, Robert Spear (Southport) |
| Boyd-Carpenter, Sir Archibald | Erskine-Bolst, Capt. C. C. (Blackpool) | Hume, Sir George Hopwood |
| Bracken, Brendan | Essenhigh, Reginald Clare | Hunter, Dr. Joseph (Dumfries) |
| Braithwaite, J. G. (Hillsborough) | Evans, Capt. Arthur (Cardiff, S.) | Hurst, Sir Gerald B. |
| Brass, Captain Sir William | Evans, Capt. Ernest (Welsh Univ.) | Janner, Barnett |
| Broadbent, Colonel John | Everard, W. Lindsay | Jesson, Major Thomas E. |
| Brown, Ernest (Leith) | Foot, Dingle (Dundee) | Jones, Sir G. W. H. (Stoke New'gton) |
| Buchan-Hepburn, P. G. T. | Foot, Isaac (Cornwall, Bodmin) | Jones, Lewis (Swansea, West) |
| Burgin, Dr. Edward Leslie | Ford, Sir Patrick J. | Kerr, Lieut.-Col. Charles (Montrose) |
| Burnett, John George | Fraser, Captain Ian | Kerr, Hamilton W. |
| Campbell-Johnston, Malcolm | Fremantle, Sir Francis | Keyes, Admiral Sir Roger |
| Caporn, Arthur Cecil | Gillett, Sir George Masterman | Lambert, Rt. Hon. George |
| Chapman, Sir Samuel (Edinburgh, S.) | Gilmour, Lt.-Col. Rt. Hon. Sir John | Latham, Sir Herbert Paul |
| Chorlton, Alan Ernest Leofric | Glossop, C. W. H. | Law, Richard K. (Hull, S.W.) |
| Christie, James Archibald | Goff, Sir Park | Leckle, J. A. |
| Cobb, Sir Cyril | Goodman, Colonel Albert W. | Leighton, Major B. E. P. |
| Cochrane, Commander Hon. A. D. | Gower, Sir Robert | Levy, Thomas |
| Cook, Thomas A. | Graham, Sir F. Fergus (C'mb'rl'd, N.) | Liddall, Walter S. |
| Cooper, A. Duff | Grattan-Doyle, Sir Nicholas | Lindsay, Noel Ker |
| Copeland, Ida | Greaves-Lord, Sir Walter | Little, Graham, Sir Ernest |
| Courthope, Colonel Sir George L. | Grenfell, E. C. (City of London) | Llewellin, Major John J. |
| Craddock, Sir Reginald Henry | Griffith, F. Kingsley (Middlesbro', W.) | Lloyd, Geoffrey |
| Cranborne, Viscount | Grimston, R. V. | Locker-Lampson, Rt. Hn. G. (Wd.G'n) |
| Crooke, J. Smedley | Guest, Capt. Rt. Hon. F. E. | Lovat-Fraser, James Alexander |
| Crookshank, Col. C. de Windt (Bootle) | Guinness, Thomas L. E. B. | Lumley, Captain Lawrence R. |
| Crookshank, Capt. H. C. (Gainsb'ro) | Gunston, Captain D. W. | Lyons, Abraham Montagu |
| Mabane, William | Ramsay T. B. W. (Western Isles) | Storey, Samuel |
| MacAndrew, Lieut. Col. C. G. (Partick) | Ramsbotham, Herwald | Stourton, Hon. John J. |
| MacAndrew, Capt. J. O. (Ayr) | Rankin, Robert | Strauss, Edward A. |
| Macdonald, Sir Murdoch (Inverness) | Rathbone, Eleanor | Strickland, Captain W. F. |
| Maclay, Hon. Joseph Paton | Rawson, Sir Cooper | Sueter, Rear-Admiral Sir Murray F. |
| McLean, Major Sir Alan | Rea, Walter Russell | Sugden, Sir Wilfrid Hart |
| McLean, Dr. W. H. (Tradeston) | Reed, Arthur C. (Exeter) | Summersby, Charles H. |
| Macmillan, Maurice Harold | Reid, James S. C. (Stirling) | Sutcliffe, Harold |
| Macquisten, Frederick Alexander | Reid, William Allan (Derby) | Thomas, James P. L. (Hereford) |
| Maitland, Adam | Remer, John R. | Thompson, Sir Luke |
| Makins, Brigadier-General Ernest | Rickards, George William | Thomson, Sir Frederick Charles |
| Manningham-Buller, Lt.-Col. Sir M. | Ropner, Colonel L. | Thorp, Linton Theodore |
| Margesson, Capt. Rt. Hon. H. D. R. | Rosbotham, Sir Thomas | Todd, A. L. S. (Kingswinford) |
| Marsden, Commander Arthur | Ross Taylor, Walter (Woodbridge) | Tree, Ronald |
| Mason, Col. Glyn K. (Croydon, N.) | Ruggles-Brise, Colonel E. A. | Tryon, Rt. Hon. George Clement |
| Mayhew, Lieut.-Colonel John | Runge, Norah Cecil | Tufnell, Lieut.-Commander R. L. |
| Mills, Sir Frederick (Leyton, E.) | Russell, Albert (Kirkcaldy) | Wallace, Captain D. E. (Hornsey) |
| Milne, Charles | Rutherford, John (Edmonton) | Wallace, John (Dunfermline) |
| Molson, A. Hugh Elsdale | Rutherford, Sir John Hugo (Liverp'l) | Ward, Irene Mary Bewick (Wallsend) |
| Moreing, Adrian C. | Salt, Edward W. | Ward, Sarah Adelaide (Cannock) |
| Morris, John Patrick (Salford, N.) | Samuel, Rt. Hon. Sir H. (Darwen) | Wardlaw-Milne, Sir John S. |
| Morris, Owen Temple (Cardiff, E.) | Samuel, Samuel (W'dsworth, Putney) | Warrender, Sir Victor A. G. |
| Morris-Jones, Dr. J. H, (Denbigh) | Sandeman, Sir A. N. Stewart | Wedderburn, Henry James Scrymgeour. |
| Muirhead, Lieut.-Colonel A. J. | Sassoon, Rt. Hon. Sir Philip A. G. D. | Whyte, Jardine Bell |
| Munro, Patrick | Scone, Lord | Williams, Charles (Devon, Torquay) |
| Nail, Sir Joseph | Selley, Harry R. | Wilson, G. H. A. (Cambridge U.) |
| Nail-Cain, Hon. Ronald | Shakespeare, Geoffrey H. | Windsor-Clive, Lieut.-Colonel George |
| Nation, Brigadier-General J. J. H. | Shaw, Captain William T. (Forfar) | Winterton, Rt. Hon. Earl |
| Nunn, William | Shepperson, Sir Ernest W. | Wise, Alfred R. |
| Pearson, William G. | Simmonds, Oliver Edwin | Withers, Sir John James |
| Peat, Charles U. | Smith, R. W. (Ab'rd'n Kinc'dine, C.) | Wolmer, Rt. Hon. Viscount |
| Penny, Sir George | Smithers, Waldron | Womersley, Walter James |
| Percy, Lord Eustace | Somervell, Sir Donald | Wood, Rt. Hon. Sir H. Kingsley |
| Perkins, Walter R. D. | Somerville, D. G. (Willesden, East) | Young, Rt. Hon. Sir Hilton (S'v'noaks) |
| Peto, Geoffrey K. (W'verh'pt'n, Bilston) | Spens, William Patrick | |
| Powell, Lieut.-Col. Evelyn G. H. | Stanley, Rt. Hon. Lord (Fylde) | TELLERS FOR THE AYES.— |
| Pybus, Sir Percy John | Stanley Hon. O. F. G. (Westmorland) | Lieut.-Colonel Sir A. Lambert |
| Ra[...]kes, Henry V. A. M. | Steel-Maltland, Rt. Hon. Sir Arthur | Ward and Lord Erskine. |
| Ramsay, Capt. A. H. M. (Midlothian) | Stewart, William J. (Belfast, S.) | |
| NOES. | ||
| Adams, D. M. (Poplar, South) | Grundy, Thomas W. | Maclean, Neil (Glasgow, Govan) |
| Attlee, Clement Richard | Hall, George H. (Merthyr Tydvil) | Mainwaring, William Henry |
| Banfield, John William | Hicks, Ernest George | Maxton, James |
| Bevan, Aneurin (Ebbw Vale) | Jenkins. Sir William | Milner, Major James |
| Brown, C. W. E. (Notts., Mansfield) | Jones, J. J. (West Ham, Silvertown) | Paling, Wilfred |
| Buchanan, George | Jones, Morgan (Caerphilly) | Parkinson, John Allen |
| Cocks, Frederick Seymour | Kirkwood, David | Smith, Tom (Normanton) |
| Daggar, George | Lawson, John James | Thorne, William James |
| Davies, David L. (Pontypridd) | Leonard, William | Williams, David (Swansea, East) |
| Edwards, Charles | Logan, David Gilbert | Williams, Dr. John H. (Llanelly) |
| Graham, D. M. (Lanark, Hamilton) | Lunn, William | Wilmot, John |
| Greenwood, Rt. Hon. Arthur | Macdonald, Gordon (Ince) | |
| Grenfell, David Rees (Glamorgan) | McEntee, Valentine L. | TELLERS FOR THE NOES.— |
| Griffiths, T. (Monmouth, Pontypool) | McGovern, John | Mr. John and Mr. Groves. |
Question put, and agreed to.
§ Ordered, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to provide, during twelve months, for the Discipline and Regulation of the Army and the Air Force; and that Mr. Duff Cooper and Sir Bolton Eyres Monsell and Sir Philip Sassoon do prepare and bring it in.