§ CAPTAIN NORTON (Newington, W.)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for War whether it has been brought to his notice that officers of the Army Medical Department suffer severely from frequent moves at short notice, coupled with difficulty of obtaining leave, to such an extent that an officer of 11 years' service serving at home had recently to pay about £30 to enable him to obtain a part of the ordinary leave to which he was entitled by regulation, although the leave in question was for urgent private affairs, namely, to visit a sick wife at his proper station, he being on detachment; and whether he will take steps to deal with these hardships?
§ MR. BRODRICKOfficers of the Army Medical Staff are moved from station to station as seldom as possible, and only when the necessities of the public service demand. Ordinarily a departmental officer can only have leave of absence when it does not cause additional expense to the public; but, as the home establishment of officers is under strength and inconvenience resulted, arrangements have been made whereby a substitute for an officer on leave is provided without expense to that officer when the establishment of the district is not full.