§ Mr. LAMB(by Private Notice) asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware of the intention on the part of the War Graves Commission to remove the bodies from the Cemetery at Fauquissart to another spot at Euston Post some considerable distance away, on the alleged ground of existing insanitary conditions, and further, is he aware that the owner of the property has offered to sell the ground to be retained for its present purposes, and definitely states that the question of sanitation has never been raised; and whether in view of the fact that great disquiet is felt on the part of the relatives of those interred at this Cemetery at the prospect of the removal of the bodies after a period of 10 years, and in view, of the result of inquiries made on the spot by responsible persons on behalf of the relatives, he is prepared to take steps to prevent the removal being carried out until further consideration has been given to the matter?
§ Sir L. WORTHINGTON-EVANSI regret that it will be necessary to remove the bodies from this cemetery in consequence of a, decision of the local authorities, which the Imperial War Graves Commission are bound to accept. The acquisition of the sites of British War Cemeteries in France under the Law of 1915 is dependent in each case on the consent of the Medical Officer of Health and the Municipal Council of the Commune, and, in the Commune in which the cemetery now in question is situated, these authorities consider it necessary that the number of cemeteries within the area shall be reduced. As the result of prolonged negotiation, in which the Imperial War Graves Commission have received every assistance from the French Government, it has been decided that the nine cemeteries in the Commune shall be reduced to three, and I am satisfied that it would not have been possible to effect any better settlement.