§ 14. Sir Austin Hudsonasked the President of the Board of Trade whether some arrangement can be made by which a non-commissioned officer or man in the Army can buy a pair of pyjamas at his own expense if he wishes to do so?
§ Mr. DaltonAs I informed my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for East Leicester (Major Lyons) on 3rd March last year, the clothing issued to other ranks is regarded as covering essential requirements. Supplies are much shorter now than they were a year ago, and I regret that it is quite impossible to make the concession for which my hon. Friend asks.
§ Sir A. HudsonDoes the right hon. Gentleman really say that a private soldier shall not be able to buy a pair of pyjamas at his own expense if he wishes to do so, and is not this rather reminiscent of the Middle Ages?
§ Mr. DaltonI think that the arrangement suggested in the Question is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for War.
§ Sir A. HudsonIt is not a question for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for War; it is a question of whether a man shall be allowed, at his own expense, not as an issue, to buy a pair of pyjamas without the sanction of the War Office.
§ Mr. DaltonThe question is whether additional coupons shall be made available for this purpose, and the shortage of the supply is such that I cannot go any further in that connection than I was able to do a year ago.