§ Mr. H. LAWasked, the Secretary of State for War whether he car now state the result of his inquiry into the cases of Irish migratory labourers who have been arrested by the military authorities under the Military Service Act, though not ordinarily resident in Great Britain, on the ground that they were registered in Scotland last year; whether he is aware that further arrests have been made in similar cases during the last few days; and whether he will issue instructions immediately to have such arrests stopped and the men released?
§ Mr. FORSTERThe legal position is that these men require to prove their exception from the Military Service Acts before a Civil Court. No machinery exists 1253W to enable recruiting officers to distinguish between persons who are ordinarily resident and persons who are not if their names appear on the military register.