§ LORD HARRIS rose to ask His Majesty's Government what arrangements have been made for the relief of the Territorial officers and men serving in India.
§ The noble Lord said: My Lords, these soldiers have been kept in India far too long, and contrary to the promise given them when they were first sent there. I quite recognise that it was inevitable in the circumstances that, existed, but the situation has now altered. I should like to read an extract from a letter that I received as I came into the House. It is from the father of a man who left home for his summer training in July, 1914. His regiment was mobilised in the following month; so that he has been away now for five and a quarter years. He has got as far as France, where he has been detained for nearly three weeks, and in a letter received from him to-day he says he expects it will be three more weeks before he leaves France. If that is true it really is most unfair. We were promised last 41 year, when I put this Question before, that all invalid cases should be as far as possible brought home at once, and that the Territorials who were in good health would be relieved this autumn. I will take the opportunity of passing this statement on to ray noble friend below me, and I hope that he may be able to get this man brought home, as he deserves to be, at once. In the meantime I ask the general question as to what has been done and what is being done to carry out the promise that Territorial troops should be relieved from further service in India.
§ THE UNDER-SECRETARY OF STATE FOR WAR (VISCOUNT PEEL)My Lords, as to the specific case mentioned by my noble friend, I shall be very glad to look into it and give him an answer. As to what has been done and what is being done with the Territorials in India, I should begin by stating that the number of demobilisable personnel in India on October 1 last was about 2,900 officers and about 48,000 other ranks.
§ VISCOUNT PEELOn October 1 last. My noble friend will understand that in these figures are included the Territorials at present in India, because they are all, I think, among the demobilisable personnel, although it has not been possible, and it would not be possible without some considerable research, to extricate from these numbers, precisely those who are Territorials and those who are not. In order to provide release for these troops the following Regular troops of all ranks have embarked for India, or are being despatched in the near future. Those embarked are 24,391; those ready to embark in October are 20,159; those ready to embark in November are 4,182; making up a total of 48,732. So that only a very small balance of 2,168 are left to complete the relief of demobilisation. Therefore, unless some great disturbance occurs, the undertaking given by the Secretary of State for War, I think in August last, will be a good deal more than fulfilled.
I should like to remind my noble friend of these two points, that, of course, a considerable number of the fit Territorials were sent to Mesopotamia, and they are returned as coming home from Mesopotamia; and that special instructions 42 were given that priority in their class should be given to Territorials serving in India. But I think my noble friend will probably be satisfied with the figures that have been able to give him.