HC Deb 15 July 1902 vol 111 cc247-50
MR. WINSTON CHURCHILL (Oldham)

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War whether he will lay upon the Table the Report of Sir Robert Grant upon the conduct of certain gentlemen cadets of the Royal Military College at the Camberley Fair.

MR. BRODRICK

No, Sir. I am not prepared to lay on the Table Papers connected with this subject while the conduct of these cadets is under the investigation of the Commander-in-Chief.

LORD HUGH CECIL (Greenwich)

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War what is the nature of the inquiry the Commander-in-Chief intends to make into the case of the cadets rusticated from the Royal Military College; and whether the Commander-in-Chief will associate with himself in that inquiry the Judge Advocate General.

MAJOR RASCH (Essex, Chelmsford)

Before this Question is answered, may I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether these general and corporate punishments are not uncommon in the Army, and whether there is any other practical way of dealing with such offences?

MR. BRODRICK

My hon. and gallant friend. I am sure, reflects the general feeling that the Commander-in-Chief would not have resorted to this form of punishment unless he thought it absolutely necessary. The inquiry will be conducted personally by the Commander-in-Chief, and it is not proposed to associate the Judge Advocate General with him.

LORD HUGH CECIL

Is it contemplated to accept the assurance of any cadet on his honour that he is innocent, supposing there is no evidence against him?

MR. BRODRICK

I am afraid I must inform my noble friend that it is impossible for the Commander-in-Chief, who is charged with the discipline of the Army, to conduct an investigation and give a decision if I am beforehand to announce the regulations that will guide him.

MR. WINSTON CHURCHILL

Will the right hon. Gentleman tell us exactly what is going to be done?

*MR. SPEAKER

Order, order! That is going beyond the Question on the Paper.

MR. WINSTON CHURCHILL

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War whether his attention has been called to the case of Gentleman-cadet Corporal J. S. Oldham, who was rusticated from the Royal Military College on 3rd July; whether he is aware that this cadet was absent on sick leave in London on 11th June, when the disorder at Camberley Fair took place; and, in view of the character borne by this cadet, will he say what evidence there is to connect him with the outbreak of fire on 25th June.

MR. BRODRICK

This cadet was absent on the 11th June on sick leave. He was, however, present in "C" Company passage about the time the fire in No. 100 room took place, and he was, therefore, rusticated with the-twenty-eight others. The Commander-in-Chief will consider his case with the others.

MR. WINSTON CHURCHILL

Did the right hon. Gentleman not say that this cadet was implicated in the previous disorder?

MR. BRODRICK

No, Sir, I did not. I said there were a large number of cadets who were implicated in this disorder, but I did not say that all the twenty-nine were implicated.

MR. GALLOWAY (Manchester, S.W.)

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War whether he can say what will be the expense of holding a special examination in London at the end of this month for the twenty-nine cadets who have been rusticated from Sandhurst; whether the expenses of the cadets in travelling to and from London for that purpose will be defrayed by the State; whether notice has yet been conveyed to the parents that their sons should hold themselves in readiness to be examined.

MR. BRODRICK

The expense of the examination will fall on Army Votes. The reply to the other two Questions is in the affirmative.

MR. LABOUCHERE (Northampton)

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War whether, at the investigation promised by the Commander-in-Chief in regard to the fire at Sandhurst, each of the twenty-nine cadets rusticated will appear separately before the Court, or whether all will be allowed to be present during the investigation; whether any cadet who pledges his honour that he was not in the passages leading into the room where the fire took place during the three-quarters of an hour before it was discovered, or that he does not know who was the author of the fire, will be relieved of his rustication; whether the three servants in the quarters of "C" Company on 25th June will be examined, and evidence taken as to the possibility of any person having been in the quarters of "C" Company during the three-quarters of an hour previous to the fire, and having left the building before the fire was discovered; whether the senior cadets wore invited to investigate the origin of the fire of 25th June and of previous fires at Sandhurst; and, if not, whether they will be invited to make such investigation, and be granted facilities for doing so.

MR. BRODRICK

The Commander-in-Chief has undertaken to go personally into the case of these cadets. It is not proposed to hold a further inquiry by a Board. I cannot make a further statement on the matter till the Commander-in-Chief has made his investigations.

LORD HUGH CECIL

When will the Commander-in-Chief make an investigation?

MR. BRODRICK

He is carrying on the investigation, I think, today, and possibly on the following days.

LORD HUGH CECIL

And when may we expect to know the result?

MR. BRODRICK

I am not in a position to say, but the result will be communicated to the House.