§ 14. Mr. R. MACDONALDasked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether a soldier after his twenty-eight days' furlough following upon demobilisation is to be discharged from the Army, or is to be passed into the W or other Reserve; and in what position is the Kitchener Army soldier who enlisted for the duration of the War, and is therefore not subject to the provisions of the 3402 Military Service Act as regards military service when the War is ended and demobilisation begins?
§ Mr. MACPHERSONI am not yet in a position to state what form the final demobilisation of a soldier on the conclusion of his demobilisation furlough will take, but the position of a voluntarily enlisted man and of a man called up under the Military Service Act is identical in this respect.
§ Mr. MACDONALDHas my hon. Friend seen the official pamphlet in which the two words "discharged" and "demobilised" are used as though they meant the same thing? Is he aware that confusion is being widely spread in the minds of the soldiers, and is causing a great deal of trouble?
§ Mr. MACPHERSONI think the facts are as follows: a man demobilised is at once given furlough or leave with full pay.
§ Mr. MACDONALDIs he discharged at the end?
§ Mr. MACPHERSONI am at present unable to say.