§ MR. BRANCH (Middlesex, Enfield)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War, if he is aware that the meeting at South-gate on the 22nd June last, at which the band of the Royal Artillery was present, was a meeting held under the auspices of the Primrose League to promote the candidature of Colonel Bowles, who made a speech, in the course of which he said the Army was on paper and the Navy dwindling; and whether he proposes to take any action in the matter.
§ MR. HALDANEAs I informed the hon. Member when replying to his Question on the 8th, the military authorities were unaware that the fête at Southgate was a political meeting. When sanction for the attendance of the Royal Artillery Band was given, permission was in fact given on the distinct understanding that the meeting was not a political one. The organisers of the meeting have been asked to explain how the guarantee came to be given.