§ COLONEL SYKESsaid, he would beg to ask the Secretary of State for India, Whether, now that the Regiments of the Three Native Armies of India are termed Irregulars, it is intended to continue the exceptional practice of appointing Officers to Regiments to be Commandants and second in command of Regiments, irre- 2159 spective of their rank, notwithstanding Other Officers appointed to the same Regiments may have superior brevet or substantive rank; and on what grounds a Staff Officer serving with a Native Regiment is permitted to qualify himself for promotion to substantive rank and pay, while an Officer on the Cadre of a Regiment, and not on the Staff, is only qualifying himself for promotion to brevet rank without pay?
§ SIR CHARLES WOODsaid, in reply, that in answer to the first Question of the hon. and gallant Member, he had to state that in the Irregular Regiments in India the rank of commandant was given to an officer quite irrespectively of his rank in the regular army. It was not proposed to abolish the power of making the appointment of commandants in the manner stated in the Question, and thus prevent the Government from putting the right man in the right place; but that course would only be adopted in very exceptional cases. In reply to the second Question, he had to state that the position of an officer under such circumstances in a Native Regiment had no connection with his regimental rank or pay.