Mr. LLEWELYN WILLIAMSasked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that discontent has been caused in the Army medical service by the late list of promotions to the higher ranks of that service, colonels and surgeon-generals, as a result of which a large number of officers, some of whom possess distinguished records for professional work, have been passed over for promotion; whether these promotions were the result of consideration of the qualifications of the officers by an impartial and formally constituted board of senior officers; and, if so, what was the constitution of that board; if such a board was constituted, what instructions were given to it to guide it in making its selection; and, alternatively, if no such board was constituted, on what system was the selection made, and was due attention paid to scientific and professional qualifications as apart from purely administrative ability?
§ Mr. MACPHERSONThe recent promotions were made in some instances among officers who perform purely professional duties and in others both professional and administrative capacity were duly considered. The promotions were made specially for the purposes of the War, and officers not so selected are still eligible for promotion in the ordinary course. The recommendations of General Officers Commanding were obtained and carefully considered, and the selections were made by the Adjutant-General, in consultation with the Director-General, Army Medical Service, after exhaustive inquiry, and were finally submitted to the Secretary of State for approval.