§ MR. ANDERSONasked the Secretary of State for War, If the command of the home district is a staff appointment subject to the five years' rule, and if there is any reason why that rule has been set aside in the case of the officer now holding the command, whose appointment dated from April 1870; and, if there is any rule under which this command is restricted to Major-Generals promoted from full pay of the Guards; and, if there are at present only two unemployed officers falling within that category, affording a very limited field of selection?
MR. GATHORNE HARDY, in reply, said, the command of the Home District was an appointment under the five years' rule, but that rule was not absolutely imperative. The reason for exception in this case had been in con- 1871 sequence of changes that were going on in respect of the command of depôt stations, and for the re-organization of the military police. The officer now holding the command would retire in a short time. Although the selection had to be made from a limited number, an officer very eminently qualified for the post had been nominated as his successor. It had been customary to choose from full pay of the Guards, because that brigade was under the home command.