§ Sir H. NIELDasked the Minister of National Service whether he has considered the effect of the Royal Proclamation, dated 4th June, 1918, withdrawing certificates of exemption of persons born in the year 1900, as specified in the First Schedule, wherein exception is made in paragraph 4 as to cases where certificates have been granted on the ground of ill-health or of conscientious objection, and the limitation imposed by the Second Schedule, which, while permitting fresh applications to be made to an Appeal Tribunal by persons born in the year 1900 on the ground of a conscientious objection, exclude any such application on the ground of ill-health; why this differentiation is made, and why a person who has hitherto been entitled to exemption on the ground of infirmity or ill-health should no longer be able to apply for exemption while that right is preserved to conscientious objectors?
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§ Mr. BECKThe Royal Proclamation withdrawing certificates of exemption from men born in the year 1900 contains similar grounds of appeal to those of the earlier Proclamation withdrawing certificates from men born in the years 1895 to 1899. The differentiation pointed out by my hon. and learned Friend is due to the fact that the Proclamation does not withdraw certificates of exemption in the cases of men who are in medical Grade 3, and it is not to be supposed that a man in Grade 1 or Grade 2 would hold a certificate granted partly on the ground of ill-health.