H.—l9e.

1900. NEW ZEALAND.

DEFENCE: COMMISSIONS IN IMPERIAL ARMY OFFERED TO THE COLONY.

Return to an Order of the House of Representatives dated the 3rd August, 1900. Ordered, "That there be laid before this House a return showing—(l) The number of commissions offered to the oolony by the Imperial Government; (2) the conditions under which those commissions were offered; (3) the number of applications for those commissions; and (4) the number of applicants who have been recommended by the Government for commissions." —(Mr. Rhodes.)

The Number of Commissions offered to the Colony by the Imperial Government. — Ten in the Eoyal Artillery (Field or Garrison), twenty in the infantry. The Conditions under which those Commissions lucre offered. —To gentlemen selected by His Excellency the Governor after consultation with the Imperial officer commanding local forces. Candidates must be British subjects of good character, between the ages of twenty and thirty, unmarried, and passed by Medical Board as fit for service according to regulations under which commissions in the British army may be obtained by officers of colonial military forces and students from the colonial universities. The Number of Applications for those Commissions. —Sixty-one. The Number of Applicants who have been recommended by the Government for Commissions. —None; but Field-Marshal Lord Eoberts has been requested to distribute twenty of the commissions amongst the officers, non-commissioned officers, and men now serving with the New Zealand contingents in South Africa. Abthdb P. Douglas, Under-Secretary for Defence. Defence Office, Wellington, 17th August, 1900. Approximate Cost of Paper.— Preparation, not given; printing (1,200 copies), 17s.

By Authority: John Mackay, Government Printer, Wellington.—l9oo. Price 3d.~\