§ COLONEL WALRONDasked the Secretary of State for War, Whether there is any reason why a communication should not be made to a Surgeon Major that he is not to be promoted to the rank of Brigade Surgeon as soon as it is decided that he is to be passed over, instead of allowing him only to become acquainted with the fact by seeing it in The Gazette.
THE MARQUESS OF HARTINGTONIt is distinctly laid down in the Royal Warrant that Surgeons Major are to be selected for promotion to the higher ranks of the Medical Staff. Under such a system, therefore, promotion is not necessarily the rejection of an incompetent officer, but the selection of the 1851 most competent officer; and I am not prepared to admit that that officer is passed over who does not happen to be selected for advancement, nor do I see that he is entitled to have notification made to him of his non-selection.