§ MR. TOTTENHAMasked the Secretary of State for War, Whether it is the express function of the Commander-in-Chief to select officers for appointments to the staff of an army about to take the field; and whether, in the case of the expeditionary force to Egypt, the usual practice has been departed from in this respect; whether he will state the reasons which have instigated the selection of an officer charged with such important duties as those of Surveyor-General of Ordnance to proceed on foreign service at a time when the duties and responsibilities of his department must necessarily be largely increased; whether, in view of the numbers of distinguished officers seeking for employment, it is proposed to fill up the vacancies which have been created on the staff at home; and, whether the office of Surveyor-General of Ordnance was revived on the understanding, and with the intention of Parliament, that it should be held when practicable by a member of the Legislature?
§ MR. CHILDERSNo, Sir; no change has been made on this occasion in the practice under which officers are selected for the Staff of an expedition. The Secretary of State is responsible to Her Majesty and to Parliament for these selections; but he acts, of course, in consultation with the Commander-in-Chief, and, as to the junior appointments, he interferes but slightly. The present Surveyor General of the Ordnance is peculiarly fitted for the duty of Chief of the Staff, in which his experience, second to none, in connection with the administrative departments will be of great assistance to the officer in command of the force in the field. I have answered the third Question of the hon. Member in the debate on the Vote of Credit; but as to the fourth, I may say that the Office of the Surveyor General of the Ordnance was established on the lines of the recommendations of Lord North-brook's Committee of 1870, from which I will read one paragraph—
It would, we think, be unfortunate if the appointment came to be considered as one which 43 must, as a matter of course, be conferred on a Member of Parliament. It would be sufficient, in our opinion, that the office should be classed with those of the naval members of the Board of Admiralty who form part of the political administration of the day, eligible to sit in the House of Commons, but need not always necessarily be Members of Parliament.
§ MR. ARTHUR O'CONNORasked the right hon. Gentleman whether it was in accordance with his views of military discipline that a Staff officer should also be the special correspondent of a London newspaper?
§ MR. CHILDERSI would rather have Notice of that Question. There are difficulties arising out of the practice in a previous case under a former Government, and I should like to look into the matter before answering the Question.