§ MR. BARTLEY (Islington, N.)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that to obtain an authority for one Volunteer in one battalion in London to be attached temporarily to another battalion in Nottinghamshire, as laid down in Section 10, Part VIII. of Special Army Order of 27th November, 1901, it is necessary for the application to pass through the Home District, the North West District, the North Eastern District, the districts of Chester, York, Derby, and Newark, involving the signatures of twelve colonels, lieutenant colonels, and commanding officers, and a delay of twenty-four days; and whether this is required by the new decentralization system established last year.
LORD STANLEYUnder existing regulations the authority is required of the general officers commanding the districts concerned, the officers commanding the regimental districts concerned, and the officers commanding the two Volunteer corps. This, however, is considered too cumbrous a procedure, and measures are being taken to simplify it.
§ MR. BARTLEYIs it not a fact that; under the old system there was simply needed an application from one corps to the other?