§ Then, Sir, last year Natal was under martial law, though I think very few, Members of the House were conscious of it. In the Cape Colony only a few districts had recently been put under martial law at this date last year. Since that date it has been necessary to put nearly the whole of the Cape Colony under martial law. The discussions with regard to martial law—I make no complaint—have again largely occupied the attention of Parliament, and have naturally drawn fully on the resources of my Department. Then we have had also the provision for prisoners of war in five different dependencies or colonies of the United Kingdom. I put aside altogether the discussions which have taken place on such subjects as the removal of officers, the pensions of soldiers, and military discipline, all of which have great attraction for this House, and which make corresponding claims on the work of the Department. But all these things have grown up outside the ordinary business of the year, and have necessarily and naturally come into competition with it.