§ 6. Mr. PERKINSasked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether, in 138 view of the shortage of agricultural labour, he will consider the desirability of postponing the August field training of the Volunteer Force till after the harvest in rural districts?
§ Mr. MACPHERSONI am afraid I do not quite understand my hon. Friend's reference to August field training for the Volunteer Force, unless he has in mind the formation of camps which Volunteers may attend if they wish for week-ends, etc. I would remind my hon. Friend that the only compulsory training of a Volunteer is fourteen drills a month during the recruit stage and thirty drills a quarter thereafter. The original arrangement of ten drills a month was converted into thirty drills a quarter, in order to enable men employed in seasonal occupations, such as agriculture, to complete their drills for the quarter at such a time in the quarter when their energies were least severely taxed by their civil work.