Bill.

NOTES ON CLAUSES.

Clause 4.

The amendments effected by this clause will remove doubts which have arisen from time to time as to the meaning of the expression "equipments."

Clause 5.

Section 178 of the Army Act, which provides that members of the auxiliary and reserve forces and pensioners who are subject to military law in pursuance of the Act, shall be subject to the Act as if they were part of the regular forces, does not cover reserve officers or retired officers. This amendment remedies the defect.

Clause 7.

The amendments effected by this clause will make possible the appointment of air force officers as superior military authorities under s. 57A of the Army Act if they are either

(a) officers of air rank appointed by the Army Council;

(b) in chief command of a composite force of military and air forces employed on active service beyond the seas.

So far as the first amendment is concerned, the result will be to bring the definition into line with the corresponding definition of "superior air force authority" in s. 57A of the Air Force Act, by which a general officer may be appointed by the Air Council to be a superior air force authority.

The second amendment removes the doubt whether the expression "officer in chief command of any force"

would include an air force officer.. A corresponding amendment of the Air Force Act is contained in clause 12 of the Bill.

Clause 8.

Section 83 of the Army Act provides that where a man has been appointed to a corps, he is not to be transferred to any other corps without his consent, but does not make any specific provision as to what is to happen if the constitution of the corps is, after the man has been appointed thereto, altered by amalgamation with another corps or otherwise. The object of this clause is to clear up the position. A special provision is inserted in the clause for preventing the position of any man who was appointed to the corps before the alteration being prejudiced by the alteration.

Clause 9.

This clause contains an amendment which is consequential on the re-drafting of the provisions of the Army Act relating to the execution of sentences, &c., as enacted by s. 10 of the Army and Air Force (Annual) Act, 1926.

Clause 10.

Section 190 (14) of the Army Act defines the expression volunteers and volunteer forces as including the Honourable Artillery Company. As this unit is now part of the Territorial Army the paragraph is no longer appropriate.

Clause 11.

The first two paragraphs of this clause contain merely drafting amendments. The third paragraph substitutes a new paragraph for the existing paragraph (e). The existing paragraph is limited to cases where in flying danger is caused to the life of a member of the air force. The amended paragraph extends—

(1) to cases where persons whose lives are endangered are persons other than members of the air force; (2) to cases where the danger is caused, not by flying, but by negligence in the maintenance or preparation for flight of an aircraft.

Clause 12.

This clause contains the amendment of s. 57A of the Air Force Act which is necessary to make the section correspond with s. 57A of the Army Act as modified by the second of the amendments contained in clause 7 of the Bill.

Clause 13.

Section 179A of the Air Force Act applies only when naval and military personnel are attached to the regular air force. It is desired to make it apply when members of, e.g., the Royal Naval Reserve are attached to the Air Force Reserve, and to make it clear that it applies to naval officers attached to the air force, notwithstanding that they are also given air force commissions.