HC Deb 20 March 1917 vol 91 cc1717-8
31. Mr. GINNELL

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War what inquiries were instituted into the antecedents of James Bray, an Irish carpenter, who has worked on military buildings since the outbreak of war and is now, as No. 8384, Reserve battalion, 18th County of London Regiment, being punished for refusing to become a soldier; whether his account of himself, that he has worked as a carpenter on military buildings in Athlone, Arklow, Queenstown, Dublin, Ripon, Richmond, Sheffield, Coventry, Birmingham, Anston, and Regent's Park, in immediate succession, has been found untrue in any particular; and, he having come to this country solely for this skilled war work, and therefore not being ordinarily resident here, where he now is, whether he is still being punished illegally, and when he will be released?

Mr. MACPHERSON

Inquiries have been made into the facts of this case, and as it appears that James Bray has been employed on work in connection with Government contracts almost continuously since his arrival in Great Britain, it has been decided as an act of grace to discharge him from military service. I would remind the hon. Member that Bray was arrested by the civil police on their own initiative and was properly handed over to the military authorities by a stipendiary magistrate who had heard the necessary evidence and decided that Bray was liable for military service, and in these circumstances there is no question of his having been punished illegally.

Mr. GINNELL

Will the hon. Gentleman inform the House what compensation is to be paid to James Bray for this illegal attempt to force him into the Army, and what action is to be taken in regard to the magistrate for sending him into the Army, without having made proper inquiry?

Mr. MACPHERSON

As I have pointed out to the hon. Member in my answer John Bray was not forced into the Army, and no compensation will be paid.

Mr. KING

Is not the remedy in this case to take action against the magistrate who acts illegally; has such action not already been initiated in one case?

Mr. MACPHERSON

The magistrate in this case has not acted illegally.

Mr. BYRNE

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that this case has been before his Department for some months, and that until I went down to Winchester and heard the man's statement, the authorities refused to budge an inch; and is he aware that there are many other cases like Bray's, only they are not brought to light?

Mr. SPEAKER

The hon. Member ought to give notice of this question.