§ Mr. LYNCHasked the Secretary of State for War whether the determination to appoint an Inspector-General of the overseas forces has been arrived at without consultation with all the respective Governments of the overseas dominions; whether there exists any authority under which an Inspector-General appointed on his advice is entitled to inspect Australian troops in Australia otherwise than at the express invitation of the Australian Government; and whether he has received any communication from the Australian Government extending a general invitation of that character, or expressing a desire that such an inspection as recently undertaken by Lord Kitchener in Australia should be established as part of a regular system?
§ Mr. HALDANEIt is proposed that the inspectional functions of the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief in the Mediterranean shall cover those portions of the Empire, outside the United Kingdom, where troops under the control of the Home Government are stationed, and also the defences and forces of the Crown Colonies. As regards the self-governing Dominions and Colonies, it will be remembered that at the invitation of the Governments concerned Lord Kitchener has recently inspected the forces of Australia and New Zealand, and Sir John French is now inspecting those of Canada; and it is proposed that permanent arrangements for such inspections of their forces shall be discussed and, if possible, completed at the Colonial Conference in 1911. Such inspections can, of course, only take place if invitations are given by the Dominions concerned.