§ MR. JOYCE (Limerick)I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he can say how many men convicted of offences while serving as soldiers are now in civil prisons in South Africa; can he also give the names of such men imprisoned in Pretoria, with the nature of the offences, the sentence pronounced against them, the date on which they were convicted, also the conduct of those men while in prison; and whether their cases will be looked into with a view to mitigation of their punishment.
§ * THE UNDER-SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES (Mr. CHURCHILL,) Manchester, N.W.I am not able to give this information, but I will endeavour to obtain it from South Africa. No adequate reason for interfering with the ordinary procedure in such cases has been brought to my notice.
§ * MR. CHURCHILLI propose to ask for the information by despatch, in view of the heavy cost of telegraphing.