General Sir George Jeffreys: Is it not a fact that this system is entirely contrary to the whole principle of the Territorial Army, that it should be based on local recruiting and readily available for call-up; and is it not certain that many of these men would, if they had been called to local units, have re-enlisted with the Territorials and will now be lost to the Territorial Army?
General Sir George Jeffreys: asked the Secretary of State for War whether he has any information to give the House regarding the maintenance and general condition of British military cemeteries on the Continent of Europe and in Africa; what is the number of these cemeteries; and what proportion of the staffs in charge of them is British.
General Sir George Jeffreys: Will the right hon. Gentleman amplify that information? Is there, in every case, at least one Briton in charge of every cemetery?
General Sir George Jeffreys: asked the Minister of Defence whether he is aware that the rates of retired pay of naval, military and air force officers, who retired under the provisions of the Royal Warrant and corresponding instruments of 1919, in no case exceed, and in many cases are less than, the rates of 1919, in spite of the great rise since then in the cost of living; and whether, in view of the fact that the...
General Sir George Jeffreys: Does the right hon. Gentleman know of any other class or body of persons, wage earners or salary earners, who are now getting less than the rates of 1919—
General Sir George Jeffreys: —and will he urge upon the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who is the person really responsible, that it is quite time the claims of these officers should be attended to and the terms of the Royal Warrant put into force?
General Sir George Jeffreys: asked the Secretary of State for War what is the position of officers of the substantive rank of major after they have as temporary lieutenant-colonels completed their periods of command of units; and whether such officers then have to relinquish their temporary rank and continue to serve as regimental officers in the rank of major.
General Sir George Jeffreys: Is it not time that a permanent system replaced the present system, or lack of system, of temporary rank? Is it not always extremely unpopular with any officer to have to revert to a lower rank, and is this really necessary? Is it not time a permanent system was evolved which would do away with these temporary ups and downs which may be necessary in war-time but cannot be necessary in peace-time?
General Sir George Jeffreys: Have any steps been taken in this matter at all, or have things not been left just as they are? Is it not essential to the mobility and efficiency of the British troops there that they should have these services properly reformed?
General Sir George Jeffreys: Does that mean that the right hon. Gentleman considers that the opinions of the county council and of local authorities, and local opinion, are of no importance in this matter at all?
General Sir George Jeffreys: It is a fact, as my hon. Friend the Member for Carlton (Mr. Pickthorn) has said, that I once proposed a new Clause to this effect during the last war. I should like very briefly to add my voice in support of the protest against a tax on the estates of those who give their lives for their country. It has always seemed to me one of the meanest things that an ungrateful Parliament can inflict on...
General Sir George Jeffreys: asked the Secretary of State for War why Class Z reservists called up for training with the Territorial Army have not in very many cases been posted for training to units situated in the districts in which such reservists reside.
General Sir George Jeffreys: Is not this system absolutely contrary to the whole principle on which the Territorial Army has hitherto been raised and maintained, and also entirely contrary to the practice which has prevailed in the past? Moreover, does the right hon. Gentleman not agree that it is positively detrimental to territorial and local efficiency?
General Sir George Jeffreys: asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that officers of the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force have to pay Purchase Tax on all articles of uniform purchased by them; and whether, in view of the fact that they are obliged to purchase such articles for wear in the performance of their duties, he will arrange that in future all articles of uniform shall be duty-free for all...
General Sir George Jeffreys: Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that officers do pay their share of Purchase Tax on their civilian clothes? Is he aware, moreover, that they have to keep their uniforms in good creditable order becoming their rank? Is he aware also, for instance, that Purchase Tax on a naval officer's ordinary daily rig amounts to £11 5s., and does he think this is fair in view of the very great fall in...
General Sir George Jeffreys: asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will include in the peace treaty with Japan a clause providing for payment by the Japanese of substantial sums, both for the purpose of compensation to their former prisoners of war for the barbarities to which they were subjected, and also in order to make it clear to them that international law cannot be defied with impunity.
General Sir George Jeffreys: Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that, apart altogether from the question of compensation for brutalities inflicted, if public retribution is not exacted from the Japanese for their deliberate and calculated breaches of The Hague and Geneva Conventions and for their affronts to this country, they will be thought in the East to have got away with it and we shall lose even more face than we...
General Sir George Jeffreys: asked the Secretary of State for War whether, in view of the fact that the evidence at his trial showed that Driver Fargie had been relieved as sentry and was not on his post or with his guard, but on the public road when the fatal shot was fired, he has taken appropriate steps regarding the irregularities in the posting orders and duties of guards and sentries as disclosed by the proceedings...
General Sir George Jeffreys: Is it not a fact that the proceedings disclosed that the guard had received no proper orders, that neither the posting nor the relief of sentries was properly carried out and that Driver Fargie was away from his guard when the fatal shot was fired? Does not the Secretary of State think that strong steps ought to be taken in view of the lack of discipline and system that was displayed?
General Sir George Jeffreys: Is it not a fact that there was no unit, as referred to by the Secretary of State in this case, that it was a reinforcement camp and a mixture of men of many units far behind the line, that there were no written orders as there should be for a guard of this importance, and that there was no system and no discipline about the posting of this guard at all?