§ THE EARL OF MANSFIELD had the following Notice on the Paper: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are aware that in certain areas Home Guard Battalion Commanders are being required to provide personnel, to be trained for the purpose of decontaminating the clothing of the Regular Army, in the event of the enemy endeavouring to hamper our future invasion of the European Continent by gas attacks on this country; whether the full implications of this order have been properly considered; and to move for Papers.
§ The noble Earl said: My Lords, I ask your leave to state that since I put on the Paper the question which stands in my name I have received from the responsible authority certain assurances which go far to dispel the apprehension that I felt on certain points. In these changed circumstances, I do not propose to ask my question. As, unfortunately, these assurances reached me much too late to enable the question to be removed from the Order Paper, I thought it only courteous to your Lordships that I should come here and give this explanation.