§ LORD NEWTON rose to ask the. Under-Secretary of State for War how many officers and men respectively were absent from camp in 1910 without leave, and whether any penalties were imposed upon such absentees.
§ The noble Lord said: My Lords, in putting this Question perhaps it may be as well if I convert it into sense by explaining that the words "Territorial Force" have been omitted, and that my inquiry relates to that branch of the Service only. I gather that the number of officers and men absent without leave during last year amounts to a somewhat large figure. Unless I am mistaken, the number is 700 officers and over 10.000 men, which forms a not altogether inconsiderable proportion of the entire Force. Absence without leave is. I believe, considered a serious military offence. It certainly is not less serious in the case of this particular Force than in that of any other, because—quite rightly—every care is taken to put the individual to as little inconvenience as possible. I am aware that there are regulations which deal with this offence, but, so far as I am able to gather, in practice the method of dealing with this offence is, as a rule, left to the discretion of the commanding officer, and the result, as I understand, is something in this nature. If the man who has absented himself without leave does not happen to be a resident in the district he is given up more or less as a bad job and no steps are taken to endeavour to find him and punish him. But in the case of a man who resides in the neighbourhood, if he is proceeded against he immediately becomes an object of sympathy. The result is that the practice of prosecuting men for this offence tends to promote unpopularity for the Force. I think it will be admitted that this is a somewhat unsatisfactory state of affairs; and in view of expressions which I seem to remember which were made use of sonic years ago as to the relentless and remorseless way in which efficiency would be insisted upon, I think I am justified in 539 asking for information on this particular point without implying any disparagement of the Territorial Force.
LORD LUCASIt would be interesting to know from where the noble Lord got his figures, because I am glad to say that they are very far from being accurate. Indeed, they are very much in excess of the actual numbers.
§ LORD NEWTONI took the figures from a reply given in the House of Commons.
LORD LUCASIt could not have been to the same question as the noble Lord has asked because the number of officers and men who were absent from camp in 1910 without leave were—officers, 44; noncommissioned officers and men, 4,778. Officers whose absence without leave was not accounted for in an entirely satisfactory manner were called upon to resign their commissions. As regards non-commissioned officers and men there are no statistics showing to what extent penalties were imposed, but it is common knowledge that there was a considerable number of 540 prosecutions undertaken by County Associations under the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act, and those prosecutions would have been, in the majority of cases, if not all, against men who were absent from camp without leave.
§ THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURYThe noble Lord has given figures as to officers and men absent from camp without leave. Does that mean absent from the whole of the camp, or absent from camp during a part of the period?
§ LORD NEWTONI should like to say that the figures which I quoted were taken from a Ministerial reply given to Mr. Ashley, I think last week, in the House of Commons.
§ House adjourned at Five o'clock, till To-morrow, half-past Ten o'clock.