§ Mr. BOOTHasked the President of the beard of Trade if he can give an assurance to the House that no enemy alien is allowed to be in possession of a motor car or to retain one at his disposal through a nominee?
Mr. SAMUELMy right hon. Friend has asked me to answer this question. I stated, in answer to a question on 16th March last, that since the beginning of the War no alien enemy has been allowed to be in possession of a motor car except with the written permission of the police; and the general rule, which has been very strictly applied, is that permission is not granted. While I cannot say that no permits at all have been granted by police authorities, the suggestions which have been made that there has been a recent change of practice in this respect, or that permits are freely granted, are quite unfounded. It is not possible to secure that an alien enemy shall never be a passenger in a motor car, but it will be recollected that no alien enemy can travel more than five miles from his place of residence without permission.