§ MR. BARTLEY (Islington, N.)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for 420 War whether Mr. Leroux was a justice of the peace at Vredefort under the Orange Free State Government, and whether he was reinstated in his office by the British authorities after taking the oath of allegiance; whether he has been convicted on a charge of giving information to General de Wet, by the help of which information the recent raids on the railway were carried out successfully by that general; and whether he has been sentenced to five years imprisonment; whether he can state approximately the number of our troops and Colonial troops; who were killed, wounded, and taken prisoners in the railway raids referred to; and whether any other punishment is contemplated to be inflicted in such cases, with a view of deterring others from similar acts of treachery.
§ *THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR WAR (Mr. WYNDHAM,) DoverNo report has reached us of the alleged trial and condemnation of Mr. Leroux. The charge, if made, is serious, but it is one with which those responsible for the administration of martial law are competent to deal. Under these circumstances my hon. friend will, I am sure, agree that I should not be justified in expressing any opinion which might be held to influence either the verdict or the sentence in this or similar cases. In the railway raid of the 21st July, to which I believe my hon. friend alludes, two officers and one hundred men of the Welsh Fusiliers were captured. Both the officers and thirty-one men have since been released, one of the latter being severely wounded.
§ MR. SWIFT MACNEILLWill an inquiry be held, in accordance with the Queen's Regulations, into the circumstances under which these officers and men were taken prisoners?
§ *MR. WYNDHAMThat does not arise out of the question. I have dealt with this subject six or seven times already, and I have nothing to add.