§ 23. Mr. ANDERSONasked the Prime Minister whether his attention has been drawn to the legal case in which a jury at Dorchester, under the New Courts (Emergency Powers) Act, awarded £15 damages for trespass and wrongful eviction to William West, a farm labourer, now serving with the Colours; whether he is aware that much uncertainty exists among farmers and the wives of men who have enlisted as to the legal position in regard to ejectment; and whether, in view of the seriousness and complexity of the problem, the scarcity of rural cottages, the natural desire of the farmers to obtain and house labourers in place of those who have left, and the consequent danger of eviction of the wives and children of soldiers, he will grant time for discussion of the matter?
§ Sir H. VERNEYThe Government will welcome suggestions for preventing hardship arising in cases of the kind quoted by the hon. Member. Perhaps it will be convenient if, in the first instance, the question were debated on the Motion for the Adjournment.