CAPTAIN AYLMERasked the right hon. Gentleman the Secretary of State for War a Question of which he had given him private Notice—namely, Whether he has received any report from South Africa confirming the telegram in the "Standard" of that day, to the effect that—
The abolition of corporal punishment in the field is placing the military authorities in Natal in a very grave difficulty?
§ MR. CHILDERSSir, I must appeal to the House whether the sending of a note to a Minister on this Bench, as to whether a telegram published in a newspaper is confirmed by information received by him, is not an extremely inconvenient course to adopt. The Question put to me is, whether the military authorities in South Africa are not placed in a certain difficulty by the abolition of corporal punishment? I presume the hon. Member, in his allusion to the abolition of corporal punishment, refers to the Act passed in 1879, which took away corporal punishment in certain cases. All I have to say is that I have read the telegram in The Standard, and we have received no similar telegram whatever.