§ SIR ROBERT ANSTRUTHERsaid, he would beg to ask the Secretary of State for India, Whether the new Indian Furlough Regulations will not inflict hardship upon those civil servants who are now on furlough under the old regulations; and whether he will undertake that steps shall be taken to place those gentlemen, upon their return to India, in as favourable a position for obtaining appointments as they would have occupied had the new regulations not come into operation; and, should this be impossible, whether compensation will be awarded to those officers whose interests may be affected; and whether he will extend to military officers the privilege of drawing 50 per cent of their salary when on furlough; also, when the regulations will take effect?
§ SIR STAFFORD NORTHCOTEsaid, in reply, that it was, unfortunately, impossible to make alterations in the regulations respecting furlough that should not to some extent injuriously affect certain individuals, especially in the case of the present changes. The main difference, as the hon. Gentleman was aware, between the new and the old rules was this—that under the old regulations when an officer came from India he vacated his employment, and when he returned he had a chance of re appointment to other employment similarly vacated; but under the new rules an officer would retain a lien on his appointment, and thus anyone now at home and going back to India would not, as formerly, find a vacancy to which he 1555 could be appointed. He would only be able to get an acting appointment. The only way in which that inconvenience could be mitigated was to make a further rule that officers now at home should have acting appointments on more favourable terms than they usually had; and the provision now made was that officers now at home should receive 75 per cent of the value of appointments held by them as acting appointments, and also receive subsistence allowance. That would be considerably in excess of the ordinary arrangements, and the difference would be paid from the general revenues of India. He therefore hoped no material hardship would be inflicted in any case. No doubt they would get the rules in a perfect state by the next mail. The regulations had been sent home for revision, and they had been returned with remarks desiring that certain alterations should be made in them. By last mail they arrived in an unsigned letter, which contained the main principles of the rules. He believed the new regulations came into force on the 1st of July.