§ MR. SWIFT MACNEILL (Donegal, S.)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for
†See page 296.525 War whether provision will be made that the men of the Royal Garrison Regiment, at present under orders for transport from Malta to South Africa, who are within twelve months of the completion of their term of service, and many of whom are within from seven to ten months of that completion, should not proceed to South Africa but should be sent to the depot at home to complete the remainder of their period of service, having regard to the expense involved on their return home after a few months service in South Africa, and to the fact that the Indian Government, before the departure of the Lancaster Regiment from Malta to India, refused to take over men who had less than twelve months to serve before the completion of their term of service from the date of the landing of the regiment in India.
§ * THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR WAR (Mr. ARNOLD-FORSTER,) Belfast, W.The services of these men are not required at home, and there will be such ample transport available from South Africa about the 1st November that no extra cost to the public will be incurred by sending to South Africa all men whose time will not expire before that date. The question of expense does not, therefore, enter into the matter, nor is it analogous to the case quoted.