MR. HANBURYI beg to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty on what scale is the allowances or compensation made to men in the Navy who do not take up the whole of the food allowed; whether they are allowed the full value of the food not taken up; and, if not, why; and what is the annual difference between the value of the food not taken up and the allowance made in lieu thereof?
MR. E. ROBERTSON(who replied) said: The scale of compensation is given in Appendix XXV. of the Queen's Regulations. For some articles the prices paid by the Admiralty are higher and for some lower than the scale. For the sake 229 of simplification the scale of prices is a fixed one. With the fluctuating prices in the market of the numerous articles of food (22) purchased at various stations all over the world it is not practicable to assign the exact value to each article at the time when the compensation is claimed. The information asked for in the last paragraph involves such extensive investigation on account of the purchases made all over the world that the Admiralty do not feel justified in calling for the Return asked for.