§ MR. G. GREENWOOD (Peterborough)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that on 24th September last Lieutenant-Colonel W. G. Ley, commanding the 1st North Staffordshire Regiment, was charged before the justices at Aldershot with cruelty to a cat; that the justices found that the case had been proved, but nevertheless declined to convict; and whether he proposes to take any action in the matter.
§ MR. HERBERT SAMUELMy right hon. friend's attention has been called to the case but he has no power to interfere.
§ *MR. G. GREENWOODDid the magistrates in this case act under the Probation of Offenders Act, and, if so, did they decline to convict on the ground that the case was a trivial one?
§ *MR. SPEAKERThe Home Office are not responsible for the decisions of the magistrates.