THE BRITISH ARMY.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIV, Issue 178, 28 July 1913, Page 7

THE BRITISH ARMY.

DISCHARGE BT PURCHASE.

There is a very common impress'on among civilians that, by paying down a certain sam of money, a soldier can at any time automatically secure his disehir<»e. This impression, however, is wrong, in ordinary circumstances a soldier cannot claim his discharge as a right, even ii he pay 3 £1,000. Whether he shall be permitted to purchase his discharge at all rests entirely with the authorities. Where rarw recruits, however, are concerned tbe case is different. A man with less than three months' service lias a legal right to give up a. military caxeer on payment of £10, and nobody can stop him. It Ls only when he emerges from the recruit stage that he has to get permission. A colonel pleases himself -whether he wiU grant this permission or not. If a man is a specially promising member of his regiment the colonel may decide that he cannot be spared. St.ill, permission is very seldom withheld, provided the applicant complies with certain rales on the subject. As -a preliminary, he has to wait a- month,, during which period he is told to reconsider his request. Should he 'be a bandsman, fee may have to wait six months to allow an efficient substitute to be trained. H a man is serving adbroad lie also has to deposit his passage money to England The actual cost of .1 discharge by purchase is, for a c-tvairy or infantry soldier. £LS. If a Reservist, the cost is. £25. In tbe case of a member of tits Artificers' Section of trie Ordnance Corps the amount is £35. The reason for thiespecially big sum is that the authorities bare spent a lot of money on the technical training of such soldiers, and naiuxsJry -want to ;ret a. portion: of it back. The price of a discharge by purchafie. has always to be paid in spot cash. The War Office gives no credit, and cares nothing about, tbe instalment, .system. Still, when a soldier re-enlists after ptrrchasin% his discharge—as many- of tbem: do —ju«no-of .*12"6--rje4axaedr-t«--ljim.