§ LORD HOTHAMsaid, he wished to ask the Secretary of State for War a question referring to the existing practice of requiring the Return of the Decorations of the Order of the Bath on the death of each member of the Order. It would be recollected that last Session he had called the attention of his right hon. Friend to the fact that the decorations of Knights of the Bath, worn during the lives of those who received them, were not allowed to be retained by their families after their death. He had also called to his notice another fact, that the decorations of the Grand Cross of the Bath was made of such inferior materials it was impossible to wear it. He wished to ask whether the Secretary for War had taken the matter into consideration, and was prepared to give any information on the matter?
GENERAL PEELI am happy to inform my noble Friend that Her Majesty has been pleased to dispense with that statute of the Order of the Bath which rendered it necessary that the insignia of Knights Grand Cross and Knights Commanders should be returned after their death. This dispensation will apply, not only to future cases, but to the present members of the Order. It will be necessary to return the collars and badges only of the Knights Grand Cross, and in the case of promotion from a lower to a higher grade of the Order, the insignia of the lower Order would be returned. I have also to state that the stars and crosses of the Knights Commanders, instead of being of tinsel, will be made of silver for the future. I am sure every person interested in this matter must be grateful to my noble Friend for the suggestion which he made.