HC Deb 11 August 1879 vol 249 c673
SIR PATRICK O'BRIEN

asked the Secretary of State for War, Whether any custom prevails in the 60th Royal Rifles conferring upon the colonel in chief of that corps the right to make first appointments in it; and, if so, will he say how long that custom has existed?

COLONEL STANLEY

Sir, there is no custom in the 60th Rifles conferring such a right on the colonel, and, on the other hand, it is inconsistent with the rules of the Service. The Commander-in-Chief makes the first appointment, and this may have led to the belief of the hon. Baronet that they were made by the colonel in chief.