§ 95. Lieut.-Colonel Liptonasked the Secretary of State for War whether he will amend the regulations, recently criticised by a Metropolitan magistrate, which permit young soldiers to be away from barracks every night until the next morning.
§ Mr. M. StewartA permanent pass to enable a soldier to remain out of barracks when off duty up to a maximum of 48 hours may be given by commanding officers to qualifying soldiers who, in their opinion, are deserving of this privilege. The War Office have directed that the privilege must be earned, in the case of young soldiers by diligence, good conduct and a satisfactory response to training over a reasonably long period, while in the case of older soldiers its retention46W will be dependent on their maintaining a high standard of training and continuing to set a good example in conduct and attention to duty. The privilege is withdrawn for a period from any soldier who, by his abuse of the freedom given to him by it, renders himself in any way inefficient. To restrict further the privilege of a permanent pass would, I consider, be an unnecessary infringement on the liberty of soldiers.