§ Mr. TOBINasked the Home Secretary how many alien enemies were permitted to reside in the prohibited areas of England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, respectively, upon the 1st. December, 1914, 1st January, 1915, and the 1st February, 1915, respectively; and how many of these were men of military age?
§ Mr. McKENNAThis information could not be obtained without taking a special census for each of the dates named, and that would involve an expenditure of time and labour which I do not feel justified in imposing on the police at a time when so many other urgent duties fall upon them. I may refer the hon. and learned Member to the answers which I gave to the questions by the hon. Member for the Brentford Division on the 23rd November last and the 4th instant, which showed that in the prohibited areas on the East and South Coasts there were at the beginning of November 771 males and 2,190 females, and on the 1st January 695 males and 2,302 females. In comparing these two sets of figures, it must be noted that Turkish subjects in all the areas, and persons resident in the prohibited areas in Cornwall and from Aberdeenshire to the North of Scotland, are not included in the first and are included in the second.
§ Mr. TOBINalso asked (1) what general principles determine the issue of permits to alien enemies to reside in prohibited areas; and is the Home Office or, if not, what department of State responsible for formulating such general principles; and (2) what instructions, if any, have been given since the outbreak of the War by the Home Office to the registration officers of the various prohibited areas with respect to the issue of permits to alien enemies to reside in such prohibited areas; and upon what dates were such instructions given?
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§ Mr. McKENNAThe general principles in this matter were settled by conference between the War Office and the Home Office. They were summed up in a circular to Chief Constables, dated the 14th September, in which the following passage occurs: "The general principle is that it is desirable on naval and military grounds that alien enemies should be removed from prohibited areas. Permits allowing them to remain should not be granted, except in cases where there are special circumstances involving considerations of humanity or of public interest, to which weight can be given without damage to naval or military requirements." The Chief Constables had previously been instructed in circulars of the 5th and 11th August, that the greatest care should be exercised with regard to the issue of permits, and that the military authorities should be consulted in all doubtful cases. They were, further, required to forward particulars in regard to any alien enemy permitted to reside in a prohibited area to the War Office.