§ MR. HANBURY-TRACYasked the First Lord of the Admiralty, Whether it is true that a Lieutenant of the Royal Navy, whose commission as Lieutenant only dates from the 22nd May 1861, has been promoted to the rank of Commander by the present Board of Admiralty, over the heads of nearly 370 of his seniors, whose promotion has been for a considerable time almost at a standstill; if so, what special reasons can be assigned for so unusual a proceeding?
§ SIR JOHN PAKINGTONIt is quite true that in the case to which the hon. Gentleman refers I did promote a young officer of unimpeachable character and professional reputation to the rank of commander. His service as lieutenant was between five and six years, during which he had served five years at sea. I believe that in doing so I only acted upon the principle which has been recognised by successive Boards of Admiralty for a great length of time—namely, that it is for the benefit of the naval service from time to time to promote a certain proportion of young officers. I confess that I heard with some surprise that passage in the Question which relates to this officer being promoted "over the heads" of 370 others. The hon. Gentleman has been himself a naval officer, and he must, therefore, know perfectly well that promotions in the Royal 344 Navy from the rank of lieutenant always are, and always must be, by selection, not by seniority, and he must also know perfectly well that a large proportion of these 370 officers cannot hope ever to reach the rank of commander on the active list. I only wish to add that I think the House would infer from the Question of the hon. Gentleman that this was a single promotion. On the contrary, it was one of five promotions which were made on the same day. I am unwilling, because I think it might create misunderstanding, to enter into explanations of my reasons for making one of these five promotions. I am perfectly willing to explain my reasons for the whole of those promotions. If I were to do so now I should exceed the ordinary limits of an answer to the Question; but should the hon. Gentleman be of opinion that I have acted improperly in making these five promotions, I shall be ready at any moment to defend the course I have pursued.