SIR HOWARD VINCENTI beg to ask the Secretary of State for War what was the deficiency of officers in the Volunteer force on May 31st, 1905; and how the strength of the force shown by the last Quarterly Return compares with the corresponding date in 1900.
§ MR. ARNOLD-FORSTERThe total deficiency of combatant officers amounted to 2,770, including 197 seconded. The strength of the force, for all ranks, on April 1st was 248,591. The figures for the corresponding month in 1900 cannot be given, but the figures for October 1st, 1900—the year of the war—were 282,732.