§ MR. MITCHELL HENRYasked the Secretary of State for War, If he would state why the Commissions of the gentlemen who were gazetted as Surgeons under the Royal Warrant of April 28th 1877, were not ante-dated as was heretofore the case; and, in the event of their not being ante-dated, will the time spent at the Army Medical School, Netley, count towards promotion for those who may be continued in the Department after ten years?
MR. GATHORNE HARDY,in reply, said, that previous to the year 1876 the time of instruction at Netley was allowed to count as a period of service. When, however, the 10 years' system of short service was adopted, it appeared undesirable to cut off the period during which they were under instruction. It was not desirable to make a distinction between those who left at the end of 10 years and those who did not.