§ MR. HOGAN (Tipperary, Mid.)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War, in view of the fact that officers of the Colonial Forces have made excellent records in the "Long Courses," and that their names are honourably mentioned in the annual Reports of the School of Gunnery, if he would explain why it is that, notwithstanding the distinction thus achieved, such colonial officers are not eligible for appointment to ad-jutancies of Volunteers or Militia, while British Artillery officers, who go through precisely the same courses, are regularly appointed to such posts; is he aware that English Artillery officers hold highly-paid appointments in the Colonies; and does the present disqualification of colonial officers to hold appointments in England rest on Regulations that were framed at a time when the probability of colonial officers attaining high distinction in the Imperial School of Gunnery was not contemplated; if so, will he amend such Regulations in order to bring them into conformity with existing conditions, and place Colonial and British officers who distinguish themselves in the School of Gunnery on an equal footing as regards appointments in England?
§ * MR. CAMPBELL-BANNERMANIt is very creditable to the officers of colonial forces that they have devoted their time and money to qualify themselves professionally, and I am sure that the forces to which they belong will derive great benefit from their zeal and assiduity; but the hon. Member does not seem to be aware that the colonial forces-are not technically a portion of the British Army. They are not under the Army Act, but are governed by their own local statutes, and consequently they have no power of command over soldiers or Volunteers in this country. British officers holding appointments in connection with colonial forces are sent at the invitation of the colonies in which they serve, and any powers of command which they exercise are conferred upon them by the Governments of those colonies.