§ MR. MACNEILL (Donegal, S.)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that the Commander of the Forces in Ireland and the members of his Staff usually wear the shamrock in their regimentals on St. Patrick's Day; whether the Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in Ireland obtains the consent of his superior officer, the Duke of Cambridge, previously to wearing the shamrock in his uniform; and did Lord Wolseley on last St. Patrick's Day obtain any such express consent to the wearing of the shamrock; if not, will he explain the reason of this exception to the rule requiring the previous consent of the commanding officer to be given to the wearing of the shamrock?
§ * MR. E. STANHOPEThe wearing of the shamrock on St. Patrick's Day by the Commander-in-Chief in Ireland and his Staff is a question for that officer's discretion. Lord Wolseley did not, as a matter of fact, attend any military parade on 17th March; nor did he wear the shamrock on that day.
§ MR. MACNEILLMore shame for him then.