§ MR. KINGI beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for India whether Captain G. H. Butcher, whom the Indian military authorities have removed from the Army on account of his conduct during the recent deplorable events at Manipur, asked for a Court Martial; and, if so, why it was refused?
MR. CURZONOn the receipt of the Report of the Court of Inquiry which sat at Manipur to investigate the circumstances of the disaster, Captain Butcher was furnished with the passages from the Report dealing with 1108 his conduct, and was requested to submit explanations. It was on those explanations that the Commander-in-Chief in India recommended Captain Butcher's removal from the Service, which was carried out by the Secretary of State. Under the Queen's Regulations, no officer is entitled to a Court Martial, and neither the military authorities in India nor the Secretary of State saw anything in the case to justify them in granting Captain Butcher's request for one.