Page:The supersession of the colonels of the Royal Army.djvu/16

 Milbourne James, President, Gen. Sir C. Yorke, G.C.B., Lieut. General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B., Lieut. General R. Alexander, Lieut. General Hancock, Members, and reported on the 15th December, 1869. In the course of their report the following paragraphs occur:—

"97. It is impossible to estimate in what degree this disadvantage may be lessened to the junior Colonels of the British Service and those of the Staff Corps after the long period of 10 or II years, but it may be confidently predicted that the Indian Colonels of Cavalry and Infantry, who will remain to be promoted even on the reduced list of 80 or 90 General Officers of the Indian Army, will be even then so very far junior to the Colonels on the Amalgamated List of the British Army that any tolerable equality in the rise from Colonel to Major General in the two Armies will not be reached under the present Regulations at any period which it would at this time be possible to estimate.

"98. We cannot consider that the injury thus sustained by the Colonels of the British Army is one only of a light or temporary nature. The extent to which they are passed over by those of the Indian Service is most keenly felt by them, and if, as has always hitherto been held, it is important that in the two Armies serving the same Sovereign and acting together in all situations, equality of promotion in the ranks qualifying for Commands should be maintained, it seems to us highly necessary that some steps should at once be taken to check the progress of, if it may not be possible entirely to remedy, the inequality which now in so great a degree exists. With this view we feel justified in suggesting some measures which under a state of things less pressing we should hesitate to recommend."

It is unnecessary to go into the question of the remedies proposed, because they were not adopted.