CAPTAIN AYLMERasked the Secretary of State for War, Whether, before deciding upon limiting the service of gunners in the Royal Artillery to seven years, he will give due consideration to the fact that it takes at least six years to make a skilled gunner, and to the serious consequences to the Country which would follow the loss of the services of such men?
§ MR. CHILDERSIn reply to the hon. and gallant Gentleman I must entirely demur to his statement that it takes at least six years to make a skilled gunner. For such a theory there is in practice no foundation. But we have been carefully considering under what circumstances gunners in the Coast Brigade and in the Garrison Artillery should serve beyond seven years, and I think that our decisions will fully meet the necessities of the Service. The formation, I may say, of a gunner's reserve is most important.