§ MR. BIGGARasked the Secretary of State for War, If Colonel Tyrwhitt, Aide de Camp to His Royal Highness the Field Marshal Commanding in 1897 Chief, retired upon half-pay in time of War, and was accordingly, in the terms of then existing Warrants, passed over for promotion in his turn to the establishment of Major Generals; if his promotion on the 18th of May last was in accordance with the decision then come to, and with the provision of the Warrant of 1878, which prescribes the Colonels whose age exceeds sixty-three years shall be ineligible for promotion; and, if his tenure of the grade of Major General from the 18th of May to the 1st July will have the effect of securing to him a pension of £700 a year from the latter date?
§ MR. CHILDERSSir, in reply to the hon. Member for Cavan (Mr. Biggar), I have to state that the claim of Colonel Tyrwhitt to succeed to the establishment of general officers raised questions of some intricacy; but that after full consideration with my financial advisers I was satisfied, as interpreter of Royal Warrants, that the claim could not in justice be refused. The difficulty was not in connection with Colonel Tyrwhitt's age, as the Warrant of the 3rd of August, 1878, expressly allowed colonels who reached that rank before the 1st of October, 1877, to continue on the active list after the age of 63 until promoted; and, in common with many others, Colonel Tyrwhitt exercised his right in this respect when he became 63 in September last. The real difficulty arose out of two apparently inconsistent decisions about qualifying service made by two of my Predecessors. I found, however, that the supposed difficulty had not operated against the claim of other officers similarly situated. Colonel Tyrwhitt has the option of continuing on unattached pay of £450 with the prospect of £1,000 a-year when he approaches the head of the lieutenant general's list or of commuting this with an immediate retirement of £700 a-year.