§ SIR SEYMOUR KINGI beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for India on what grounds the regulation that one-half of the commands in India, shall go the Indian Army are habitually disregarded: whether the old Indian Royal Artillery and Royal Engineer officers who are for the purposes of the Regulation treated as Indian Army officers are so nominally only, and in reality are classed as in Imperial Service, and whether all Home commands are open to them, whereas none are open to the Indian Army; and if the Government of India can arrange with the Military Authorities that the Regulation 664 shall be carried into effect by dividing the higher Indian appointments equally between the officers of British and Indian Armies in India?
* MR. G. RUSSELLIf the question relates to the commands in chief in India, there is no Regulation which requires that one-half shall go to the Indian Army. If to district commands, the answer is that they are equally distributed between the two Services. Officers of the old Indian Artillery and Engineers have always been considered as officers of the Indian Army for the purpose of selection for district commands, and have been selected accordingly. They have also occasionally held Home commands, but it is not correct to say that all Home commands are open to them. The Secretary of State does not propose to take any action in the matter.