LORD BALFOUR OF BURLEIGHcalled attention to Paragraphs 20 and 25 638 of the Regulation for the supply of clothing, &c, to Militia regiments issued last January, and asked, Whether they could not be re-considered and made to apply only to articles supplied to men who had been enrolled subsequent to the dates mentioned in Paragraph 25? He had no intention of impugning the general wisdom of the Regulations referred to; but he thought he should be able to show that Paragraphs 20 and 25, if read together, would inflict a certain hardship upon a few men of the Volunteer Force. Paragraph 20 revised the rule relating to the length of time that articles issued to the men were to last. Where formerly it was five years, it was now six; where formerly it was four years, it was now five; and so on. In passing, he would just like to say that if the articles issued under the new rule were not stronger and more durable than those now in use, it would be only at the expense of smartness that the additional wear would be got out of them. The bargain made with a number of the men when they were enrolled was that at the end of five years the articles served out to them should become their own property; but the effect of the change in the Regulations would be that a man who did not re-enrol after five years would lose his right to those articles, because it was now laid down that they were to last six years. It might be replied that all bargains on the subject of clothing were liable to revision at the option of the Secretary of State for War; but he ventured to say that if the men were made aware of the existence of an arbitrary alteration of this kind, it would give rise to a soreness and a feeling of ill-usage that it was highly desirable to obviate. Again, it might be said that the value of things was not very great; but that would not, in his opinion, prevent dissatisfaction, if the new Regulations were carried out to their full extent. The Highland regiments would be injuriously affected by them; but as they had not yet, in many instances, finished their trainings, the full hardship had not been discovered, and that might account for the fact that few or no representations had been made on this subject. His object in bringing the subject under the notice of the House was to try to induce the Government to provide that the Regulations should apply only to men 639 enrolled after the dates mentioned in Paragraph 25.
§ VISCOUNT BURY,on the part of the Government, said, it was perfectly true that it used to be the practice in the Militia that, at the end of the five years, certain articles became the property of the men, and that the period had now been altered to six years. It was equally true that the new Regulations hit principally the Highland regiments. Her Majesty's Government desired to deal fairly, and even generously, with the Militia; and he must confess that in looking into the matter, there did seem to be a certain amount of hardship inflicted by the change. Without entering into any details, he would suggest that the noble Lord should talk the matter over with him, in which event he had no doubt of being able to propose some alteration that would meet the views of the noble Lord.
§ House adjourned at half past Six o'clock, till To-morrow, half past Ten o'clock.