§ COLONEL WELBY (Taunton)I beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury whether the responsibility for the adequacy of numbers and composition of land forces for Home and Imperial defence rests with the Imperial Defence Committee, in their advice to the Department of the War Office, or with the Secretary of State for War, as head of that Department; if with the latter, why the authoritativeness of the Memorandum furnished by the War Office to the Royal Commission on the Militia and Volunteers, setting forth the numbers required for Home defence, was withdrawn two months after that Memorandum was furnished.
§ THE PRIME MINISTER AND FIRST LORD OF THE TREASURY (Mr. A. J. BALFOUR, Manchester, E.)In reply to my hon. and gallant friend, I have to say that the responsibility rests with the Cabinet, whom it is the duty of the Defence Committee to advise.
§ COLONEL WELBYCannot the right hon. Gentleman answer the latter part of the Question.
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURAs my hon. and gallant friend will see, the latter part of his Question is hypothetical and turns 1390 upon an affirmative Answer to the second part of the Question, which affirmative Answer I have not given.
§ COLONEL WELBYThe Question as to authoritativeness has relation to a fact.
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURCertainly, that is so.