§ MAJOR RASCH (Essex, S.E.)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War whether any allowance will be made to Officers of the Army who have been ordered to provide themselves with the new mess waistcoat and patrol jacket in addition to the new sword hilts of last year; when the new helmet is to be taken into use; and why Officers are 1054 put to such expense in the matter of uniform?
§ MR. BRODRICKNo change has been made in the mess waistcoat, but a loss expensive mess jacket and patrol jacket have been introduced for infantry officers, and ample time has been allowed for those now in use to be worn out. As the object of the change has been to make officers' uniforms more serviceable and less expensive, and as the change is known to have been very generally desired by the officers concerned, no necessity for compensation is likely to arise. No decision has yet been come to as to the introduction of a helmet of a new pattern.