Mr. CHANCELLORasked the Under-Secretary of State for War (1) whether he is aware that the inoculated soldiers of the 7th battalion, Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders, stationed at Aldershot, had leave granted to them with free railway passes at Christmas; that the uninoculated men were asked a week before Christmas to send in their names, but did not do so, as at that time they were undecided; that these men had their leave and, on their return, on refusing to be inoculated, were confined to barracks for ten days and given dirty fatigues; and that they were compelled to refund 36s., the amount of their fares, 6s. being deducted from their pay per week, leaving them with a weekly wage of 1s. for six weeks; whether, in view of the War Office's repudiation of any desire to treat non-inoculation as a crime, he will undertake that the expenses of their journey be refunded to these men, thus placing them on a financial equality with the inoculated; and (2) whether orders have been given that the granting of leave to officers and men is absolutely dependent upon whether they have been inoculated or not; whether the order that leave shall be granted sparingly is interpreted in the sense that no leave is, from the date of the order, to be given at all; whether, since the beginning of the year, uninoculated men of the 7th and 4th Worcesters have had the five days' leave supposed to be granted at Christmas; and whether the uninoculated men of A company, 8th Worcesters, who have had no similar leave at all, are to be debarred leave indefinitely because their colonel holds stronger views about inoculation than the authority who granted leave to the uninoculated men in the other Worcester battalions?
§ Mr. TENNANTI will answer these questions, and also one of which the hon. Member for the Poplar Division of the Tower Hamlets has given me private notice. I am making inquiries into these cases, as it is impossible to obtain full details at such short notice. I understand the position generally in the cases referred to to be that men are not being punished for not submitting to inoculation, but as only the inoculated men are being sent to the front those uninoculated are not given the privilege leave allowed to men under orders for abroad. I am informed that certain men who obtained the furlough and free railway war-1428W rants were made to refund the cost of the warrants, but as to the precise circumstances I am unable to say.