§ 8. Sir C. KINLOCH-COOKEasked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he is now in a position to give the number of men employed as omnibus conductors within the enlistment age in the Metropolitan area; and whether he can see his way to impress upon the employers of these young men that their services are required in the New Armies?
§ Mr. TENNANTNo, Sir, I cannot give this figure, but, as I stated on the 20th ultimo, special steps of the kind suggested in the latter part of the question are taken.
§ 11. Mr. SNOWDENasked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he has seen a copy of a letter appearing in a Manchester paper last week, signed E.H.L., sergeant in the Cheshire Regiment, in 1622 which the writer said that shirkers are either to enlist at once or that they are to be compelled to serve, and that he and others, when they get a squad of these recruits, will see that things do not go smoothly, but that they will get a bit of their own back; will he state if non-commissioned officers are encouraged or permitted to write such letters to the Press; if they have received any official authority to say that those men who have not enlisted are going to be fetched; and will steps be taken to identify the writer of this letter?
§ Mr. TENNANTI have not seen the letter to which my hon. Friend refers. I am afraid that many letters making stupid and uncalled-for suggestions appear from time to time in the Press, and I am not prepared to take any steps to identify the writer. I may add that non-commissioned officers are, of course, not encouraged or permitted to write such letters as that described.
§ 47. Sir C. KINLOCH-COOKEasked the Prime Minister whether there are at the present moment a considerable number of able-bodied young men employed as clerks in the Army Pay and Record Offices; whether their work to a very large extent can be done equally well by women; and. if so, will he consider the advisability of making such arrangements as will allow of these young men joining the New Armies without further delay?
§ The FINANCIAL SECRETARY to the WAR OFFICE (Mr. Harold Baker)Inquiries are already in progress to ascertain whether it is practicable to increase the number of women employed in these offices, and the desirability of releasing suitable men who wish to join combatant units is not being lost sight of.
§ 45. Sir C. KINLOCH-COOKEasked the Prime Minister whether he is aware that the movement inaugurated by his address on 4th May at the Westminster Palace Hotel for promoting further recruiting in the distributing trades is handicapped by the fact that so many young men are now employed in Government Departments on work not of an urgent character; and can he by some process of adjustment introduce such changes in the administration of those Departments as will meet the difficulty complained of?
§ The PRIME MINISTER (Mr. Asquith)Heads of Departments have already been invited to make every possible arrangement 1623 for releasing those members of their staffs who are eligible for military service.
§ 81. Mr. W. THORNEasked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether at least 500 young men have volunteered to join the Colours in the various Civil Service Departments; and whether in many cases permission has not been granted?
§ The FINANCIAL SECRETARY to the TREASURY (Mr. Acland)Very large numbers of Civil servants have, as the hon. Member is aware, already joined the Colours, and I am sure that large numbers are still anxious to do so. They are, as I have frequently stated, being allowed to go whenever it is possible to make proper arrangements for the execution of the necessary work of their offices. I cannot state what is the number of those who cannot be allowed to leave their work.
§ Mr. THORNEHas a large number of them been refused permission to go?
§ Mr. ACLANDUnfortunately, where it is impossible to arrange for a man's work to be postponed or to be done by somebody else, the man has to stay.
§ Mr. THORNEThe men are wanted and yet you will not let them go.
§ Mr. ACLANDBecause, though it may be a regrettable necessity, the work of the Government must be carried on.
§ Mr. ACLANDYes. Accordingly I have only to-day sanctioned the employment of a hundred women to take the place of a hundred men to enable them to go.
§ Sir FORTESCUE FLANNERYCould not the work of the Valuation Department be entirely suspended until after the War?
§ Mr. ACLANDI think that if the hon. Member knew how we were being overwhelmed with complaints as to people being discharged from the Valuation Department, he would not ask that question.
§ Mr. THORNECould not the hundreds of policemen who are superannuated be engaged to relieve these young fellows?