§ MR. GILES (Cambridgeshire, Wisbech)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for War whether the officers commanding the Canadian, Australian, and other Colonial forces in South Africa hold Her Majesty's commission, and, if not, whether Her Majesty's Government will consider whether, out of regard to the services rendered by them to Her Majesty and the Empire, they ought to be entitled to receive a similar commission from Her Majesty to that of the Volunteer officers in this country, and to retain on retirement the rank held and won by them in service in South Africa.
*MR. J. POWELL-WILLIAMS (for Mr. WYNDHAM)Both officers and men of the Colonial forces in South Africa derive their military status from their Colonial Governments, and it would not appear expedient to alter this. The question of retention of rank on retirement rests with the various Colonial Governments.