§ Sir JOHN BARLOWasked the Secretary of State for War whether he has any information showing that there are 66,000 trained German soldiers in England, or that there are, in a cellar within a quarter of a mile of Charing Cross, 50,000 stands of Mauser rifles and 7½ millions of Mauser cartridges, that is, 150 rounds per rifle?
§ Mr. HALDANEMy hon. Friend has done well in bringing before the House this illustration of a class of alarmist statements to which credence is too often given by thoughtless persons. To anyone possessing even an elementary knowledge of what mobilisation requirements mean the suggestion is a ludicrous one. Such statements tend to lower our reputation abroad for common sense, and my hon. Friend has done well in exposing this one to the ridicule which it merits.