§ Mr. Cocksasked the Home Secretary how many of the 60,000 Germans and Austrians in this country have now been interned?
§ Sir J. AndersonAccording to the latest available statistics 10,869 Germans and Austrians have been interned.
§ Mr. Ethertonasked the Home Secretary whether it is intended to require interned aliens who have adequate means to make suitable contributions towards their own maintenance?
§ Sir J. AndersonWhen persons are detained and thereby deprived of the means of earning their livelihood, the general principle must, I think, be accepted that provision should be made from public funds for their maintenance. To depart from that principle in the case of any persons who can be proved to have resources of their own would involve inquiries into the individual means of each of very many thousands of persons, and I doubt whether the financial return would be commensurate with the time and trouble involved in the making of inquiries and the exaction of payments. For any provision above the minimum necessary for maintenance, it is right that those who are able and willing to pay should do so, and arrangements are made to give effect to this principle.