§ 33. Mr. WILESasked the Home Secretary whether the Commissioner has issued an order permitting members of the police force to offer their services to work on the land during their weekly rest-day or on their annual leave; and. if so, whether the number of Metropolitan constables willing to spend their annual leave in this way can be ascertained; and, in cases where the cost of railway fares renders it impossible for constables to travel any distance from London to perform this service, whether some assistance will be made from public funds to enable them to assist their relatives and friends in gathering in the harvest?
§ The SECRETARY of STATE for the HOME DEPARTMENT (Sir G. Cave)The order referred to permitted constables to employ their leisure time in the manner indicated, but did not contemplate long and costly railway journeys for brief periods at a time when such journeys are of necessity being dis- 496 couraged. The Commissioner is, how, ever, considering with the Board of Agriculture the conditions under which skilled agriculturists serving in the Metropolitan Police could with advantage be lent for employment on the land.