ELECTORAL REFORM BILL.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXXII, Issue LXXII, 24 May 1917, Page 5

ELECTORAL REFORM BILL.

BRITISH PRISONERS IN GERMAN HANDS.

EMPLOYED BEHIND THE LINES

AVIATION AFTER THE WAR.

LONDON, May 22. In the House of Commons, Sir George Cave (Home Secretary), in moving the Electoral Reform Bill, estimated the increase in the voters would be eight million, of whom six million would be women. Mr R. A. Sanders moved to shelve the Electoral Reform Bill. Major Archer-Shee, in seconding the motion, said the Bill failed to give votes to soldiers and sailors. In the House of Lords, Lord Newton, replying to a question, stated that one or two German prisoners had been wounded by long range shell fire, and that Germany had demanded that all prisoners should be removed thirty kilometres behind the lines. The Allies complied, but the British Government had discovered that for many months 500 British had been employed behind the German lines, and demanded that the practice should be discontinued. Three Britishers, who escaped in April, stated that hundreds of Britishers had been employed behind the German lines since November and treated with great brutality, their food only being sufficient to sustain life. They had no change of clothing, and many had died. Lord Newton added that unless the Government received an assurance that this had ceased, it was hoped the War Cabinet would take drastic action. j In the House of Commons, Mr J. L. Baird announced that Lord Northcliffe j had' been appointed chairman of the committee to enquire into aerial civil i communications after the war. The committee includes Lord Montagu of i Beaulieu, who is representing India. j He hoped that Canada and Australia | ~-'ould nominate representatives.