§ MR. CROOKS (Woolwich)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War how many, if any, men it is proposed to discharge from the Arsenal, Woolwich, and why are notices being served upon men of long service who have been working three-quarter time for six months; is it possible to say when the 923 men will resume full time again, in view of the amount taken in the Estimates for the year.
§ THE SECRETAEY OF STATE FOR WAR (Mr. HALDANE,) HaddingtonshireIt is difficult at the present moment to estimate the number of discharges which will be necessary but it is hoped that they will not exceed 320 men and boys. The least efficient men will be discharged first. In many cases with long service men there is no suitable work on which they can be employed, and their discharge is consequently unavoidable. It is not clear to which shop the latter part of the question refers, but in the shell factory there is no present prospect of resuming full time.