VISCOUNT BURYasked the Secretary of State for War, On what basis he has calculated the amount that will be annually required for retiring allowances to officers of the Army, in order to secure a proper now of promotion; and, what will be the probable annual cost of such scheme of retirement?
§ MR. CARDWELLThe first effect of the proposed changes will be not to retard, but probably to accelerate, the flow of promotion, inasmuch as the public purse will be substituted for that of private purchasers; and the employment of Army officers in the auxiliary forces will conduce to the same result. What may be the effect of the future cessation of purchase on the one side, and employment in the Reserve forces on the other, upon the flow of promotion is a question on which opinions differ, and there are no data which have been considered sufficiently ascertained to become the basis of actuarial calculation.