1548 IMPERIAL UNITY [PART VIII
and officers of the oversea Dominions had been drawn up
and forwarded to the Colonial Office for the consideration
of the Governments concerned. Canada and New Zealand
had accepted the proposals; Australia had not yet replied,
and the Government of the Union of South Africa were not
yet in a position to make any engagements. Canada had set
on foot a section of the Imperial General Staff; Australia
had done likewise, and so had New Zealand. The Chief of
the General Staff at home had become Chief of the Imperial
General Staff. In order to establish a close connexion,
the necessity of personal intercourse between central and
local sections had been felt, and with a view to meeting this
requirement a system of semi-official correspondence on
routine and training had been evolved. The duties of the
local sections of the General Staff were local defences and
the training of troops on lines similar to those followed in
the United Kingdom by the Training Directory at the War
Office.
Another memorandum dealt with the examinations for
the promotion of officers of the permanent forces of the
Dominions, and it showed how the Dominions had adopted
similar examinations to those which take place in this
country, and as a matter of fact the Army Council undertake
the examination of officers of the permanent forces on most
subjects, excluding only those which devend upon local con-
ditions.
The Committee considered that the action taken had
already resulted in marked improvement in military educa-
tion.
There was also laid before the Committee information as
to the courses of instruction in the United Kingdom and
India for officers in the oversea Dominions, and a memoran-
Tum on the education of officers at the staff colleges.
A statement was made as to the terms upon which the
services of the Inspector-General of the overseas forces could
be secured for inspection purposes by the self-governing
Dominions. Inspections were only to be made at the
request of the Dominion Governments.
