§ MR. SLOAN (Belfast, S.)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War if he will explain why clergymen of the Church of England are appointed Army chaplains at the garrison churches in Dublin and other parts of Ireland in preference to clergymen of the Church of Ireland; and will he take care in making future appointments that they shall be given to qualified clergymen of the Church of Ireland.
§ MR. MACVEAGH (Down, S.)Is not the hon. Member aware that the Church of Ireland has been disestablished and no longer exists?
§ MR. SPEAKERThe hon. Member ought not to make these little interruptions.
§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR WAR (Mr. ARNOLD-FORSTER,) Belfast, S.There are only three stations in Ireland where the local clergy do not officiate, viz.: Dublin, Curragh, and Cork, in each of which large numbers of troops, not necessarily Irish, are quartered. The proportion of clergy of the Church of Ireland among the commissioned chaplains is large, and some of these chaplains are now serving in Ireland. I regret that I am unable to adopt the suggestion of the hon. Member to confine the postings of Army chaplains in Ireland to clergymen of the Church of Ireland.