§ MR. CARLILE (Hertfordshire, St. Albans)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War whether he will consider the advisability of appointing as adjutants to the Territorial Force officers only who have been adjutants of their own regular units; and whether, should these appointments be confined to such officers, he would be prepared when their term had expired to recommend them where possible for positions on the Territorial divisional staffs.
§ MR. HALDANEEvery endeavour is made to select the most suitable officers for these important appoint- 1078 ments, and when a candidate has already served as adjutant of his unit, that fact is given due weight in considering his suitability. At the same time the number of applicants would scarcely justify an undertaking that the appointments should be wholly restricted to officers with the suggested experience. Similarly in the selection of Regular officers for the divisional staffs, previous experience as an adjutant of the Auxiliary Forces has already been allowed to carry considerable weight, and this procedure will be followed in the future.