§ COLONEL BERESFORDsaid, he would beg to ask the Secretary of State for War, If it be true that an Order has been issued from the War Office to the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, recalling a number of discharged men (Pensioners) to return to the Arsenal, and to resume work at a reduced time and pay, or forfeit their pensions; and, whether the Government, taking into consideration the large number of unemployed men and the great distress prevailing at the present time in Woolwich, will make the Order optional instead of compulsory?
CAPTAIN VIVIANSir, an order has been given that when it is necessary to take on workmen, the preference should be accorded to those discharged on pension on reduction; but it would not be insisted that a man should rejoin at lower wages than he previously had.