§ EARL DE LA WARRrose to move that an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying that Her Majesty will be graciously pleased to take into her consideration the present position as regards rank and pay of the medical officers of the Army who volunteered and served on the West Coast of Africa between the years 1859 and 1867, in order that they may receive the benefit of 393 the Royal warrant, signed the 1st of October 1858, of which they have hitherto been deprived. The noble Earl said, that towards the close of the year 1867 the Medical Regulations of the Army were promulgated, containing a portion of a Royal Warrant, dated October, 1858, which stated—
Each medical officer volunteering for the West Coast of Africa will be required to serve there continuously for a period of twelve months: every such year of service on the Coast to count as two years for promotion and retirement.On the faith of this Warrant many medical officers volunteered for service in this unhealthy climate, believing, as one of them wrote, "that the double service would count towards the rank of of Surgeon-Major." After some time, however, another Warrant was issued, stating, as before, that each year of such service should be allowed to reckon double for promotion and retirement; adding, however, these words, "but shall not so reckon towards increased pay;" and another later Warrant added, "or qualify for the rank of Surgeon-Major." Neither of these qualifications appeared in the first Warrant, under which 76 medical officers had volunteered their services upon the West Coast. Of those gentlemen a large number had died, others were invalided, others had retired from the service, and there now remained about 30, whose cases were, as he submitted, a hard one. It might be objected on the part of men of older standing that these 30 medical officers should not be promoted over their heads. It was still harder, however, that the 30 should have served for seven years under the impression that their service would count as double, and should then be told that it would count neither for pay nor promotion. He was quite content to leave this subject in the hands of Her Majesty's Government with the assurance that it would receive a fair consideration.Moved that an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying that Her Majesty will be graciously pleased to take into her consideration the present position as regards rank and pay of the medical officers of the Army who volunteered and served on the West Coast of Africa between the years 1859 and 1867, in order that they may receive the benefit of the Royal Warrant signed the 1st of October 1858, of which they have hitherto been deprived.—(The Earl De La Warr.)
§ THE MARQUESS OF LANSDOWNEsaid, that promotion was transfer from 394 one grade to another grade. A surgeon becoming a surgeon-major was not so transferred. The Royal Warrant of the 1st of October, 1858, regulating the grades of Medical Officers in the Army, ordered that those grades should be four—namely, 1st, the Inspector-General of Hospitals; 2nd, the Deputy-Inspector-General of Hospitals; 3rd, the staff or regimental Surgeon, who, after 20 years' full-pay service in any rank shall be styled Surgeon-Major; and 4th, the staff or regimental Surgeon, the attainment of the style of surgeon-major was therefore not promotion within the meaning of the words in question, and he contended that these officers had received all to which they were entitled by the Royal Warrant of 1858. This case had been brought forward in Parliament more than once; and he believed the interpretation which he now put on the Royal Warrant had never been seriously contended to be a wrong one. Under these circumstances, he hoped the noble Earl would not persist in his Motion.
§ Motion (by leave of the House) withdrawn.