§ 76. Mr. TICKLERasked the Secretary of State for War if officers and men who have purchased their discharge from the Army have afterwards had their discharge stopped by their commanding officer as the competent authority; and will he consider measures to have the hardships suffered by wives and children of these men taken into consideration by a revision of this Regulation?
§ Sir A. WILLIAMSON (Parliamentary Secretary, War Office)The answer to the first part of the question is, as regards non-commissioned officers and men, in the negative. Discharge by purchase is not invariably sanctioned, but the circumstances of each case are taken into account, and the discretion in any particular instance is with the General Officer Commanding. It is not possible for officers to purchase their release from the Army. As regards the second part, full consideration is always given to cases where the applications are based on grounds of extreme compassion.