§ SIR ELLIOTT LEES (Birkenhead)To ask the Secretary of State for War whether he will arrange that an officer on probation killed in action shall be considered ipso facto to have qualified himself for a commission, and that in such cases promotion shall be given after death and a pension awarded to the relatives of the deceased; and, if so, whether he will make this order retrospective, to cover the period of the South African War.
(Answered by Mr. Secretary Brodrick.) I will give the question careful consideration, but I cannot hold out great hopes of such a concession, as I am afraid that the change in practice involved would be considerable.