§ MR. PIRIEI beg to ask the Secretary of State for War whether, under the new reforms of our Army system, the regulations for enlistment will be so altered by the requirement from the proposed recruit of the production of actual proof of age by birth or baptismal certificate or otherwise so as to preclude for good the possibility of a recruit, whether for Regulars, Militia, or Volunteers, being enlisted under a false or apparent age, and so remaining all through his military career, and nullifying the true efficacy of any age regulations of time at which he may become available for increase of pay or pension.
LORD STANLEYAs the hon. and gallant Member is aware, an experiment was made a few years ago to test the possibility of introducing a system of verification of soldiers' ages. The results of the experiment were such as to show that it would be impracticable to require the production of a birth or baptismal certificate from every recruit.