*LORD HARRISMy Lords, I rise to ask His Majesty's Government whether they will consider the possibility of amending the new Regulations for the Territorial Army in the case of those regiments the recruiting areas of which lie in more than one county, with a view to alleviating the extreme inconvenience to which such regiments are put. This question refers to very few regiments, but they feel that they are suffering under a considerable grievance. The scheme of the right hon. Gentleman the Secretary of State for War is that the Territorial regiments in a county should be brought under the County Association, and it is conceivable 469 that the administration of their affairs will be no more complicated than they were under the War Office. But there are a few regiments in the extraordinary and unfortunate position of being under four or five counties, and those of your Lordships who have had experience of communicating with Government Departments I am sure, realise the confusion that will be caused thereby, for these unfortunate regiments will have to apply in all matters of finance, administration, etc., to each of these County Associations. Finding it difficult to deal with the cases of those regiments which recruit over several counties the right hon. Gentleman the Secretary of State has apparently left it to the regiments and to the County Associations themselves to get out of the difficulty as best they can. I suggest that it is the business of the War Office to get the regiments out of this dilemma, and that it would not be difficult for the War Office to devise a scheme by which the colonels of such regiments might have to do with only one authority. I may add that this is not a personal grievance of my own. I have been asked to put the Question on behalf of another commanding officer.
§ THE UNDER-SECRETARY OF STATE FOR WAR (The Earl of PORTSMOUTH)My Lords, I regret that the noble Lord has not informed me what are the particular cases to which he refers.
*LORD HARRISThey are perfectly well-known. The Marquess of Tullibardine's regiment, for instance, recruits over four or five counties.
§ THE EARL OF PORTSMOUTHI understood the Question to refer to another matter—namely, the condition of those counties which practically adjoin London. Some men domiciled in Kent, Surrey, and Essex will, no doubt, want to join the London regiments, but I am afraid we cannot depart from the general principle established in the Act, that the county of which the Lord-Lieutenant should be the head should be the recruiting area for the different County Associations. No doubt in the neighbourhood of London some difficulties may arise, but these we trust will be 470 overcome by the mutual good feeling of the Associations, whom, in matters of this kind, we expect to be able to come to some arrangement
*LORD HARRISI regret that my Question has been misunderstood. The cases I refer to are those of regiments coming under various counties for administration. Perhaps the noble Ear will look into that point.
§ THE EARL OF PORTSMOUTHI now see what is in the mind of the noble Lord, and will inquire into it.