ABSTRACT
The Volunteer Force was only under martial law when on active service, or after 1871 when training with the Militia or Regular Forces. Normally discipline rested on the authority which derived from the social status of the officer. The appointment of officers was vested by Parliament in the Lord Lieutenant, subject to the Queen's approval. The objections of Lords Lieutenant, in fact, seem to have been more to the status of the proposed officer than the process by which his name had emerged. Usually, however, election gave way to some process of consultation whereby the wishes of the members were considered and the appropriate social status in the officer required. The decline of elections was part of a process whereby the Volunteers became more military and less club-like in atmosphere. Normally rural areas had the advantage over towns in the search for officers of high social status.
