§ DR. KENEALYasked the First Lord of the Admiralty, Whether it is a fact that the soldiers and officers of the Royal Marines receive less pay than the soldiers and officers of the Line; and whether it is a fact that the pay and pension of the soldiers of the Line have been recently raised, while no increase has been made in the pay or pension of the Royal Marines; and, if this be so, whether he will state the grounds on which such inequality is based?
§ MR. HUNTThe pay of Marine officers is identical with that of Army officers, but the men's pay is different. The soldier now receives 1s. a-day pay, and for the first 12 years of service 2d. a-day deferred pay and free rations; the Marine on shore is paid 1s. 2d. a-day pay and 1d. a-day beer money; but from this is deducted d. a-day for rations. His net pay is, therefore, 10½d. a-day. The Marine when afloat receives free naval rations in addition to the pay of ls. 2d. As the Marine serves half his time afloat and half on shore, his average net pay is 1s. 0¼d., so that as regards substantive pay he has ¼d. more than the soldier throughout his 1210 service, but against this is to be set 2d. a-day deferred pay for 12 years of service, which the soldier earns and the Marine does not. The pay of sergeants in the Army is in excess of that of Marine sergeants. It is impossible to make an exact comparison as regards pension between the Army and the Marines. In some respects the soldier is the gainer, but in others the Marine has the advantage. There has recently been au addition to the pay of the soldier in the shape of the deferred pay already mentioned. Whether the pay of the soldier and the Marine should be equalized in all respects would appear to be a matter for a discussion rather than the subject of a Question and Answer across the Table.