§ MR. RADFORD (Islington, E.)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War whether officers of the recently disbanded battalions are, on transfer, placed as juniors of their rank in the new regiment; and, if so, whether, in view of the loss of seniority incurred by these officers, he will take stops to discriminate between a transfer made in consequence of a reduction of establishment and a transfer made on an officer's own initiative, seeing that in the Indian Army an officer is transferred from one regiment to another without lost of seniority.
§ MR. HALDANEThese officers have been so treated in accordance with the provisions of the King's Regulations; but no officer has been so transferred without his consent nor without a knowledge
†See Col. 299.536 of this condition. Steps will be taken to discriminate between officers transferred on reduction of establishment and those transferred on their own initiative by considering the former for the offer of extra regimental promotion when their length of service appears to justify it, irrespective of their position on the regimental list. In the Indian Army promotion up to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel is regulated by the length of service from date of first permanent commission, irrespective of the regiment, and consequently promotion is unaffected by transfer from one regiment to another. In the British service, where promotion goes regimentally, such a condition does not apply.