§ COLONEL WELBY (Taunton)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for War, with reference to the statement that, of the candidates who failed at the December examination of Militia candidates for Army Commissions, a number, according with the exigencies of the service, will be admitted to the further competitive examinations; and whether he can see his way to admitting all who may reasonably be considered could have qualified had the papers set in December been not more difficult than those set in April, when so many more qualified, either by an allowance in marks, say 1,000, or by admitting the same number of candidates as qualified in April.
§ MR. WYNDHAMThirty-one candidates (making 60 in all) will be taken from those next below the last successful candidate. This decision is based solely on the requirements of the service, and not on the alleged difficulty of the papers set in the December examination. The Civil Service Commissioners have requested the Secretary of State to explain that the papers were similar in character to those in previous examinations, and that the failure of so large a number of candidates was, in their opinion, due, not to any difference in the standard of judgment, but to a difference in the work of the candidates themselves. The minimum was raised by 100 marks, but this affected the success of only four candidates. It has not been usual to announce the minimum in advance, although this was done on one occasion last year.