COLONEL STANLEYasked the Secretary of State for War, Whether he will lay upon the Table of the House the regulations under which it is proposed that enlistment shall now take place, and an estimate of the probable charge upon the Effective and Non-Effective Votes, resulting from such regulations; 1642 and, further, any calculation which may have been made of the probable effect on the growth of the Reserve?
§ LORD EUSTACE CECILwished, before the noble Marquess answered that Question, to put two Questions to him, of which he had given him private Notice, on the same subject. His first Question, which he put in consequence of an article that appeared in The Times, was, Whether it was to be understood that the noble Marquess's proposals stated on Friday night were to be of a temporary nature, and that once the ranks of the Army were filled, the new scheme would lapse, and short service would be re-established substantially as it had existed before? He also wished to ask whether the new proposals would apply to every soldier in the Army, and to the Marines, as well as to future recruits?
THE MARQUESS OF HARTINGTONIn answer to the noble Lord's Question, I have to say that no change will be made in the terms of enlistment except as regards the Brigade of Guards. The permission to extend their service and to reengage is a temporary permission granted to men now in the Service. So long as the Regulations and General Orders under which it is granted are in force, it will be equally available to all men in the Service who are qualified under the conditions specified; but the permission may be revoked at any time hereafter, and we are under no obligation to extend it to men who shall not at that time have availed themselves of it, or to future recruits. Experience, however, may show that, combined with a shorter term of compulsory service with the Colours, it may be desirable to maintain it permanently. As to the Marines, they are enlisted under totally different conditions, and that part of the Question should be addressed to the Secretary to the Admiralty. In answer to the right hon. and gallant Gentleman, I have to say that, as the Regulations and General Orders altering the conditions of extension of service and re-engagement are mainly in the form of Amendments to other Orders, and are difficult to understand, I will lay on the Table a Memorandum showing their effect. The only effective charge expected will be the bounty of £2 a-head offered to certain men to extend their service for the drafts to India. This will be met by the 1643 saving accruing from the present deficiency of establishment. Deferred pay will not be increased; but to the extent that men take the bounty its payment will be postponed. As regards non effective charge, it is not anticipated that there will be any material change, for experience has shown that men completing 12 years' service will almost always take their discharge with the deferred pay immediately due, rather than serve on for several years more to obtain a pension. The element of personal selection enters so largely into the case that the effect on the Reserve cannot be calculated. Irrespective of the changes now made, the most recent calculations showed a probable strength of 31,000 at the beginning of 1884, of 36,000 a year later, and of 42,000 at the commencement of 1886. It is not thought likely that many men now about at once to enter the Reserve and take deferred pay will be deterred from doing so by the £2 bounty. Consequently, there should be no immediate loss to the Reserve. Men of shorter service, however, will probably, in many cases, take the £2 to extend their services to 12 years; and to such an extent as they do so their services will be hereafter lost to the Reserve, unless they enter the Second Reserve. Should the state of recruiting be such as to allow of men being passed to the Reserve after three years, or after less than seven years' service, there would be a proportionate recovery in the strength of the Reserve.
THE MARQUESS OF HARTINGTONNo detailed calculation has been made, nor do I see on what basis we can calculate how many men will avail themselves of the terms offered.