§ 35 and 36. Mr. GOLDSTONEasked the Secretary to the Board of Trade (1) whether he has seen a communication addressed to the Board by the chairman of the committee on the release of railwaymen for military service, calling attention to the fact that two men had been ordered to join the Army by recruiting officers, although it was reported to the officers concerned that these men had lodged appeals in accordance with the rules laid down by the Railway Executive Committee; whether an official reply has yet been sent to the communication; what action he proposes to take to secure the jurisdiction of a committee which was constituted by the Board of Trade; (2) whether he is aware that the recruiting officer at Exeter recently refused to defer the (ailing up of a railwayman for a period of time sufficient to allow of the hearing of an appeal before the committee on the release of railwaymen for military service on the ground that the War Office did not recognise the authority of the committee; and what action, if any, the Board of Trade has taken to inform the competent military authority that they have constituted the committee to hear appeals from railwaymen?
Mr. ROBERTSA communication dealing with the cases referred to has been received from the committee on the release of railwaymen for military service, and a reply to it will be sent as soon as possible.