A.—4

10

in Part I, Appendix XII, King's Regulations, is now set under arrangements made by the War Office. The offer to extend this system to officers serving abroad and to officers of the Permanent Forces of the oversea Dominions was made, and was well responded to in the first examination held in December, 1910. It may be added here that the Government of India have also quite recently decided to adopt our examinations entirely. 6. The remarks of the Director of Military Training in the " Report on Examinations " have of late been considerably amplified. A supply of those reports is made to the oversea Dominions with a view to assisting instructions. Local Sections, General Staff. 7. Frequent correspondence with a view to attaining uniformity of standard takes place between the General Staff at the War Office and the local sections of the Imperial General Staff, and the greatest harmony prevails. The papers themselves are now forwarded direct to the local sections of General Staff in the oversea Dominions, thereby saving time. During the past year officers of the Australian, Canadian, and New Zealand Forces have been attached to the branch of the General Staff under the D.M.T. at the War Office, in order to make themselves familiar with the working of the machinery of that Department. Colonel Heard, before taking up his appointment as D.M.T. in New Zealand, also attended for this purpose. Certain changes have been made in the regulations relating to the examination of officers for promotion. Those changes have been explained to each of the oversea Dominions by circular letter. Summary. 8. From the above, it will be seen that very real effect has been given already to the proposals made at the Colonial Conferences of 1907 and 1909, in which it was agreed that the education of officers was the bedrock of the formation of the Imperial organization. It is hoped that the officers of the Permanent Forces of the Commonwealth of Australia will shortly take the paper set in (d) (iii) (Organization, &c.) for officers of the British Regular Army, as has already been done in the case of officers of the Permanent Forces of Canada and New Zealand. It may then be said that all the oversea Dominions will have adopted our examinations almost in every detail. Considering the short time in which this has been brought about, it may be considered that very satisfactory progress has been made towards uniformity of education of officers throughout the Empire. (Conclusion.) The Committee consider that satisfactory progress has been and is being made to give effect to the proposals regarding the education of officers throughout the Empire which were agreed to at the Conferences of 1907 and 1909 ; and they desire to record their opinion that the action taken on these proposals has already resulted in a marked improvement in military education. (D.) —Courses op Instruction in the United Kingdom and India of Officers of the Oversea Dominions. The following memorandum by the General Staff was laid before the Committee : — As regards the attendance of officers of the forces of the self-governing Dominions at schools of instruction in the United Kingdom, much consideration has been given to the question by the War Office. Heretofore the majority of such attachments have been arranged by High Commissioners direct with the Commandants of the schools of instruction and General Officers Commanding concerned. This method was found to be unsatisfactory. A Committee has recently considered the whole question of the attachment of officers of the self-governing Dominions and colonies to schools and units of the Regular Army.