HC Deb 28 November 1917 vol 99 cc2056-7

Motion made and Question, "That the Lords Amendments be now considered," put, and agreed to.

"Provided that under Regulations made by the Army Council and Air Council the officers and airmen of a body of the Air Force acting with any body of His Majesty's military forces on active service, or any such officers or airmen may, in such manner and in such circumstances and subject to such conditions as may be provided by or under those Regulations, be made subject to military law, and in such case they shall be subject thereto in like manner as if they were officers and air, men attached to the Army."

Motion made, and Question proposed, "That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said Amendment."

Major BAIRD

This and a subsequent Amendment to the paragraph on Section 84 of the Army Act are the only Amendments that are not of a purely drafting character. The purpose of these two Amendments is to enable the Air Council to apply military law to any body of the Air Force when it is serving with the Army, in the event of its being necessary, having regard to local conditions. Hon. Members will realise that that might become necessary in a case such as this: An Air Force man falls ill anti is put in a military hospital. He is, in fact, under Air Force law, and he cannot be dealt with by the Army. In cases of that sort it might be desirable to put him under military law. If you had a very large body of the Air Force serving with a very small force of the Army the same action might be desirable in the opposite direction.