Lords Sitting of 6 July 1916

Preamble
Appeal Committee—Third Report from; read, and agreed to.
LORD DUDLEY.
The House being informed that his Lordship was attending with his writ of summons, the Lord Chancellor explained to the House his Lordship's descent: Then his Lordship was called in and took the Oath and then took his place on the Baron's Bench.
LONDON COUNTY COUNCIL (MONEY) BILL.
Read 2a, and committed for Tuesday next.

OUTPUT OF BEER (RESTRICTION) BILL.
Brought from the Commons, read 1a, and to be printed. (No. 59.)
LAND DRAINAGE (FELTWELL) PROVISIONAL ORDER BILL. (No. 60.)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT PROVISIONAL ORDER (No. 3) BILL. (No. (61.)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT PROVISIONAL ORDERS (No. 5) BILL. (No. 62.)
Brought from the Commons; read la; to be printed; and referred to the Examiners.

IRVINE'S DIVORCE BILL. [H.L.]
Returned from the Commons, agreed to.
FOLKESTONE GAS BILL.
Returned front the Commons, with the Amendments, agreed to.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA BILL. [H.L.]
Message from the Commons that they have ordered that the Committee appointed by them to join with a Committee of this House on the Government of India Bill [H.L.], do meet the Committee appointed by their Lordships in Committee Room A. on Wednesday the 19 th instant, at Eleven o'clock.

RETURNS, REPORTS, &c.
Board of Education—Interim Report of the Consultative Committee on Scholarships for Higher Education. (Adopted by the Committee on 19th May, 1916):
War Charities—Report of the Committee appointed by the Secretary of State for the Home Department to consider representations made concerning charitable funds for objects connected with the War, and to advise as to the control and supervision of such funds:
Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction for Ireland—Fifteenth Annual General Report of the Department for the year 1914–1915:
Ancient Monuments in Wales and Monmouthshire—Seventh Report of the Royal Commission appointed to inventory the Ancient and Historical Monuments and Constructions of Wales and Monmouthshire, and to specify those which seem most worthy of preservation:
Evicted Tenants (Ireland) Act, 1907—
Return, giving particulars of cases in which persons have been reinstated with the assistance of the Estates Commissioners during the quarter ended 30th June, 1915;
Similar Return for quarter ended 30th September, 1915;
Similar Return for quarter ended 31st December, 1915:
Presented (by command) and ordered to lie on the Table.
Dogs Regulation Act, 1865—Accounts of the Receipts and Expenditure under the Act for the year 1915:
Fines, &c. (Ireland)—Abstract of Accounts of Fines accounted for by the Registrar of Petty Sessions Clerks for the year 1914:
Alkali, &c. Works Regulation Act, 1906—Fifty-second Annual Report on Alkali, &c. Works by the Chief Inspector. Proceedings during the year 1915; presented to the Local Government Board and to the Secretary for Scotland:
Laid before the House (pursuant to Act) and ordered to lie on the Table.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT PROVISIONAL ORDERS (No. 1) BILL.
Read 3a (according to Order), and passed.

THE LOSS OF H.M.S. "HAMPSHIRE."
LORD BERESFOED LORD BERESFOED had the following Question on the Paper—
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will reconsider their decision relative to having a Court-Martial on the survivors of H.M.S. "Hampshire" in order that many questions disturbing the public mind may be cleared up.
The noble and gallant Lord said: My Lords, I ask leave to postpone this, Question.

UPPLEMENTAL ALLOWANCES.
LORD LEIGH LORD LEIGH had the following Notice on the Paper—
To call the attention of His Majesty's Government to the case of Mrs. Lauder-dale, of 16, Aybrook-street, Marylebone, who was previous to the war entirely supported by her son. He enlisted on January 24th, 1916, is on active service in France, and allows his mother 3s. 6d. a week. No supplemental allowance whatever, though due under the Regulations, has been paid to Mrs. Lauderdale, although she has on three separate occasions personally applied for it to the Post Office, to the Soldiers' and Sailors' Families Association, and to the Paymaster at Hounslow,
The noble Lord said: My Lords, I have ventured to place on the Paper a statement of the case of a woman to whom her son previous to the war allowed 18 s. a week, this being the only support she had. On January 24 last the son enlisted, and is now serving in Prance. The mother then became entitled, under the Regulations, to an allowance of 12 s. 6d. a week, but up to this moment she has not received a penny of the allowance due to her. This was in no way owing to lack of effort on her part, as she made three separate personal applications to the Post-office, to the Soldiers' and Sailors' Families Association, and to the Paymaster at Hounslow, and in order to journey to Hounslow she had to borrow the necessary money. This case, however, does not
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stand alone. I know of one where a woman was kept waiting for over three months for her allowance; of another where, in consequence of an acknowledged mistake on the part of a Government official, a woman has been deprived of what is to her a considerable sum of money; and I know of a further case of the deprivation of the allowance through an official mistake. I do not wish to detain the House with the details of these cases, but I can give them afterwards if desired. So widespread was the knowledge of the delay in paying allowances that it acted as a great deterrent to recruiting in the pre-compulsion days, men fearing that in the event of their leaving their homes their wives or their mothers might for many weeks find themselves absolutely destitute. In the case on the Paper to which I have specially drawn attention the woman has now been kept waiting, as I have stated, for five months without receiving her allowance.
LORD SANDHURST: My Lords, I am glad that the noble Lord has called attention to this case. He mentioned that ho knew of three or four others of which he could give details. If the noble Lord will be so good as to send me the particulars of those cases, I can promise him the most prompt inquiry. As regards the particular case of Mrs. Lauderdale, it is extremely to be regretted that delay should have taken place in paying her this allowance. Apparently there were a great number of transfers from one regiment to another, and unhappily this case remained in the background, but I am endeavouring to trace exactly how it occurred. I can inform the noble Lord that owing to his representation the money is either now being or has been paid to Mrs. Lauderdale, and she will, of course, receive the arrears due to her from the date of her son's enlistment on January 24 last. The noble Lord said that this woman was entitled to 12 s. 6d. a week owing to the fact that her son had previously allowed her 18 s. a week for her maintenance. I do not know whether the noble Lord is familiar with the usual routine in these matters. This claim first of all was, I believe, for 17 s. a week. When a claim is made the pension officer goes into the case and makes an estimate of what he considers is the amount that a mother should receive, and this report is referred to the local pensions committee. In this case it was estimated that, instead

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of the woman being entitled to 17 s., the amount should be 10 s. When the sum to be given is 10 s. a week, the private soldier has to subscribe 5d. a day, the amounts being 7s. 1d. from the Government and 2s. 11 d. from the soldier; but in this case the soldier preferred to subscribe 6d. a day. Therefore the sum which Mrs. Lauderdale will receive is 10 s. 7d. per week. I am much obliged to the noble Lord for calling attention to this case, and as a result I have taken steps, as far as I can, to see that no other cases of the kind are left undealt with owing to the various transfers to which I have referred.
LORD LEIGH: I thank the noble Lord for his reply.

THE MESOPOTAMIA PAPERS.
VISCOUST MIDLETON: As the Mesopotamia Papers, which we were promised would be published early in July, have not yet been issued, I would appeal to the noble Marquess the Leader of the House to use his influence with the India Office to get them circulated as soon as possible. These Papers were promised about two
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and a half months ago. The noble Marquess himself expressed the, hope that we should have them by Whitsuntide, and the Under-Secretary of State for India undertook that they should be in our hands in the early days of July. We have now reached the 6th of July, and there seems no sign of the Papers being published.
THE LORD PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL (THE MARQUESS OF CREWE): I will certainly convey to my colleague at the India Office the representation which the noble Viscount has made. My noble friend the Under-Secretary is not in his place to-day; otherwise I have no doubt he would have been able to state exactly what the circumstances are which have caused the delay. The Papers are, I believe, in a form ready for publication, and it can only be, as I understand, a matter of getting them printed and circulated. So far as I know, there are no outstanding questions in connection with them to cause any delay.
House adjourned at twenty minutes before Five o'clock, till To-morrow, half-past Ten o'clock.