§ MR. FENWICK (Northumberland, Wansbeck)On behalf of the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War how many soldiers were under sentence of courts-martial and detained in His Majesty's prisons on 31st December, 1906; and whether any of such detentions were by order of field courts-martial in the South African War.
§ MR. HALDANETwo hundred and thirty-nine soldiers were in prison on 31st December, 1906, under sentence of court-martial. Of those there were six imprisoned by order of field courts-martial in the South African War.
§ MR. FENWICKOn behalf of the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War how many soldiers In the Regular Army were tried by courts-martial in 1906; how many trials ended in acquittal; how many men were convicted; and the average term of imprisonment inflicted.
§ MR. HALDANEThe figures are as follows:—
| Tried. | Acquitted. | Convicted. | |
| General courts-martial | 7 | 2 | 5 |
| District courts-martial | 5,343 | 175 | 5,168 |
§ Of this last number forty were not confirmed or were quashed by the General Officer Commanding and fifty-two were quashed by the Judge Advocate General. The average term of imprisonment inflicted was as follows:—
| Penal servitude | 3.33 years. |
| Imprisonment with hard labour:— | |
| General court-martial | 18 months. |
| District court-martial | 87 days. |
§ The cases in which detention was inflicted after trial by district court-martial gave an average of forty-nine days.
§ MR. LUPTON (Lincolnshire, Sleaford)Do these figures disclose a terrible state of criminality in the Army, or that the sentences of courts-martial are very terrible?
§ MR. HALDANENo, Sir; considering the enormous number of British soldiers under military law in all parts of the world I do not think they are excessive.