§ Mr. BOOTHasked the Secretary for War if General Plumer, commanding officer at York, is in favour of all the higher commands in the Special Reserve battalions and Territorials being held by Regulars and ex-Regulars, and that therefore he will rarely recommend commanding officers for extensions of command, with the result that Regulars have been appointed to command in cases when, if he had recommended the Special Reserve commanding officer for a short extension, the promotion could have gone in the battalion, the second in command then being qualified for promotion?
§ Colonel SEELYI do not know to what case my hon. Friend alludes. Since Lieutenant-General Sir H. Plumer assumed command of the Northern Command, there have been five vacancies among commanding officers of Special Reserve battalions; four of those have been filled by the promotion of majors of the Special Reserve and one by bringing in a retired Regular officer of the Territorial regiment. There are no ex-Regular officers commanding Territorial Force Infantry battalions in the Northern Command.