London, Feb. 15.
While the British Government's decision to modify the Foreign Enlistment Act, to permit British subjects to fight in the Finnish army, was being announced in the House of Commons, lively scenes were taking place close by in Smith Square, Westminster, where the Finnish Legation has established recruiting offices in one of the mansions which has been closed since the outbreak of war.
'A considerable number of British volunteers were registering their names, including middle-aged and elderly men, middle-aged women, and a number of young girls as well as young men of military age.
'A number of smartly dressed girls were volunteering to go to Finland as nurses.
A Finnish spokesman told Reuter ihat the number of persons who had so far been registered did not exceed 2,000, of which number some would not prove fit owing to age or other disabilities. He inferred, nevertheless, that the Finnish authorities were pleased with the volume of the response. The spokesman added that none of those registered had yet left for Finland.
The question as to what uniform volunteers would wear, and also what rate of pay would be given had not yet been decided, he said.
The spokesman suggested that in view of the language difficulty, British volunteers upon arrival in Finland would probably be drafted to an international unit with Finnish soldiers, to do liaison work.
In the vicinity of the recruiting officers, groups of young men li r ing breeches and ski boots attra general attention. They descri themselves as volunteers from Hungary who were passing through Britain on their way to fight the Russians, One of them stated that the detachment numbered 350. Some had come via Yugoslavia, others via Italy.
The Finnish spokesman said that the Legation was not concerned with the passage of volunteers from the continent through Britain. Such volunteers would have to obtain Heavy Snowfalls on
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.