§ MR. DILLONI beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for War whether he will lay upon the Table of the House any reports or memoranda on the military situation in South Africa sent in by Sir William Butler during the three months before he was relieved of his command in South Africa.
§ THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR WAR (MR. WYNDHAM,) DoverMay I ask the hon. Member to address this question to the First Lord of the Treasury?
§ MR. DILLONI will put it to the right hon. Gentleman to-morrow.
§ MR. WYNDHAMI believe the First Lord will be ready to answer it to-day.
§ MR. BAINBRIDGEI beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury whether, in view of the numerous comments which have appeared in the press with reference to the views and proceedings of Sir William Butler, and in view of the fact that the rules of the service preclude an officer from placing on record the true facts of the case, the Government will supply the House with such despatches of Sir William Butler, or such information as to the advice he has from time to time given the War Office, as will enable a correct estimate of his conduct to be arrived at.
§ THE FIRST LORD OF THE TREASURY (Mr. A. J. BALFOUR,) Manchester, E.There appears to be no reason for laying any further despatches of Sir William Butler's on the Table of the House. His general opinions upon South African questions are very well known to the public, and there has been no concealment on the subject. I do not know whether it is worth reiterating in explicit terms to the House that he never in any communication to the War Office, public, semi-public, or private, suggested that the number of troops required in the case of an outbreak of hostilities would be anything like the number of troops actually sent to the theatre of war.
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURNo, not now sent. I want to make this quite plain, as doubts are thrown upon the statement. The statement is this. There were sent out as a defensive force before the outbreak of hostilities 24,000 men, or thereabouts, to Natal and Cape Colony. There were sent out subsequently what is known as the Field Force, and those two together amount to a body of men well in excess of 70,000. Sir William Butler never suggested a number of men any- 255 thing like that as being necessary in the case of an outbreak of hostilities.
§ MR. CHANNING (Northamptonshire, E.)May I ask whether Sir William Butler did not send a statement of the Boer forces and of the strength of the Boer armaments to the War Office or to the Government, and whether, if such a statement exists, it may be laid before the House?
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURI am not aware that he sent any such statement, but if the hon. Gentleman will put a question either to me or to the Under Secretary for War, we will endeavour to answer it.
§ MR. T. M. HEALY (Louth, N.)The right hon. Gentleman in his answer has limited his statement to the War Office; may I ask whether he includes Sir Alfred Milner in that department?
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURI do not suppose he sent any communications on purely military subjects except to his military chiefs. I never heard of it, nor would it have been a proper course to pursue.
§ MR. T. M. HEALYDid Sir Alfred Milner attempt to interfere with Sir William Butler in the disposition of the troops?
§ MR. DILLONHad the reports from Sir William Butler reference to any plan of campaign or arrangement of the troops in Natal?
§ * MR. SPEAKEROrder, order! Notice must be given of that question.
§ MR. SWIFT MACNEILL (Donegal, S.)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for War whether the Secretary of State for War will now consent to publish the correspondence between the War Office and Sir William Butler which led to the resignation by Sir William Butler of his command at the Cape, and the letter of Sir William Butler tendering his resignation; and whether the series of circumstances which terminated in Sir William Butler's resignation commenced by representations made to the Colonial Office by Sir Alfred Milner on the divergence of opinion on the South African crisis between Sir William Butler and himself.
§ The following questions also appeared on the paper—
§ MR. HEDDERWICK (Wicks Burghs)To ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will lay upon the Table of the House a copy of all the correspondence and despatches of Major General Sir William Francis Butler, from the date of that distinguished soldier's appointment to the command of the troops in South Africa in 1898.
§ MR. DILLONTo ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will now publish the despatches sent by Sir William Butler while he was acting as High Commissioner in South Africa.
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURWe are not prepared to lay the correspondence referred to on the Table of the House.
§ MR. DALZIEL (Kirkcaldy Burghs)In order to clear up the mystery will the right hon. Gentleman tell us whether Sir William Butler was withdrawn, or did he resign? His experience was certainly of great value.
§ [No answer was given.]
§ MR. SWIFT MACNEILLI do press for an answer to the second part of my question.
§ Mr. A. J. BALFOURI do not think Papers could be laid, but there need be no concealment of the fact that Sir William Butler and Sir Alfred Milner had divergent views of policy.