§ Mr. KILEYasked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether his attention has been called to the issue of the "Weekly Bulletin" of the Recruiting Service for 14th June, 1917, to the tone of the Notes of the Week, the references to weak tribunals, the criticism of chairmen of tribunals, and the note, "Refreshing," with its suggestion that there should be no appeals; and whether he will give instructions that the contents of this official War Office publication should be confined to statements of fact and not indulge in 1935W contemptuous criticism of bodies of men appointed to administer an Act of Parliament?
§ Mr. MACPHERSONThe "Weekly Bulletin" is issued to assist military representatives and others of the recruiting service in their work, and the notes referred to were written in consequence of inaccurate and misleading statements being made by certain newspapers purporting to quote as their authority the chairman of the Stepney Tribunal in regard to a decision of the Central Tribunal on one-man businesses. It was necessary that immediate steps should be taken to inform military representatives all over the country that the published statements were inaccurate and likely to mislead the public. The note "Refreshing" was a quotation from the statement of an Army chaplain, who had said that it would be refreshing if men who were called up would go without appealing. This is the first suggestion that has ever been made that the "Weekly Bulletin," which is of great use to the recruiting services, indulges in contemptuous criticisms of bodies of men appointed to administer an Act of Parliament, and the suggestion is contrary to the fact.