§ 2. Sir HARRY BRITTAINasked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether and where the cards are stored which are taken from British subjects returning to England via Dover and Calais what use is made of these cards; and whether the railway companies concerned have borne the whole of the expense of their distribution, collection, and storage?
§ The UNDER-SECRETARY of STATE for the HOME DEPARTMENT (Sir John Baird)My hon. Friend has asked me to reply to this question. These cards have been stored at the Immigration Office in Dover for one month, for the purpose of reference in case of need. The railway companies have distributed the cards; the immigration officers have collected and stored them, but, as I stated in my answer of the 24th May, this has involved no cost to public funds.
§ Sir H. BRITTAINDoes that not involve a great waste of time when the traveller comes home, and is it not a fact that when these cards are handed in they cannot be of any possible use at all? Are they ever referred to?
§ Sir J. BAIRDThe difficulty is to discriminate between alien and British subjects in the distribution of cards. The railway companies are now making other arrangements.