§ 22. Mr. F. WHYTEasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the act of declaring the independence of Poland on the part of the Russian Government and the subsequent recognition of that independence by His Majesty's Government is to be interpreted as conferring a technically separate nationality upon Poles resident in Great Britain; whether the Russo-British Convention relating to the military service of Russian subjects in Great Britain and British subjects in Russia is thereby abrogated in respect of persons of Polish nationality; and, if so, whether he will request the Home Secretary to issue an instruction to magistrates to respect the rights of persons of Polish nationality?
Mr. BALFOURThe status of Poles resident in this country, as at present defined, is that they may be treated by His Majesty's Government from henceforth as alien friends. It is not practicable for the present to go beyond this definition. The answer to the second part of the question is in the negative; but the British military authorities have been ready to give the option of serving 19 in the Polish Army in France to Poles of Russian nationality resident in this country who do not elect to return to Russia under the Military Service Acts, and thereby become liable for service in the British Army. I will consider the suggestion in the last part of the question.