60. Mr. CHANCELLORasked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he is aware that on 28th June the H battery, Royal Horse Artillery, mobile section, 2nd Cavalry Brigade, who have been serving at the front for eleven months, were paraded and addressed by Colonel Bud-worth, who called the men who had exercised their legal right to refuse inoculation cowards, said he would like to hand them over to the Germans, threatened refusal of leave, and in some cases sent them to the trenches as punishment; whether the War Office sanction the calling men cowards and refusing leave after eleven months' fighting without a complaint; and whether he will reprimand this officer and protect from such treatment soldiers who have acted on the faith, of his word?
§ Mr. TENNANTI have no information about this case, but if my hon. Friend's information be correct I feel sure that the Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief, in whose hands the discipline of the Expeditionary Force rests, would have taken proper notice of the matter.
Mr. CHANCELLORCannot the right hon. Gentleman himself take some steps to secure that soldiers who have been fighting for nearly twelve months are protected from an outrage of this kind?
§ Mr. TENNANTI had contemplated bringing the matter to the notice of the Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief, but on reflection and the recollection of the fact that we had promised to bring as few cases as possible to his notice, in order, so far as possible, not to interfere with the operations in the field, I forbore to do so.