§ 18. Lieut.-Colonel Sir J. NORTON GRIFFITHSasked the Secretary for 2120 War whether, in order to obtain release on compassionate grounds in the case of proprietors of one-man businesses, a soldier must be deemed to have been the sole proprietor of the business for a consecutive period of at least twelve calendar months immediately previous to the date on which he joined the Colours; that he must be-over thirty years of age at the date of the application, and that he must have joined for immediate service on or before 1st January, 1917; and will he state whether a soldier is entitled to release in the event of the death of a parent owning such business and leaving the son the sole proprietor thereof?
§ Mr. FORSTERThe conditions for release of one-man business proprietors on compassionate grounds are correctly stated by my hon. and gallant Friend, but those conditions do not apply to a soldier who, owing to the death of a parent, becomes the sole proprietor of such a business. The possibility of extending the conditions of release on business grounds to cover cases such as the one referred to is at present under consideration.