§ MR. SEELYasked Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Whether his atten- 48 tion has been called to the last Report of the Committee of Public Accounts, in which it is stated that India is indebted to the War Office in the sum of £788,000, for the three years ending 81st March 1878; whether this sum represents the capitalised value of the proportion of soldiers' pensions payable by India during the years mentioned; whether the debt has accrued in consequence of an agreement entered into between the Secretary of State for India and the Secretary of State for War, under which India undertakes to pay to the War Office the capitalised value of such pensions in lump sums from year to year, and the War Office undertakes the payment of these pensions as an annual charge; if so, whether he will lay a Copy of such agreement upon the Table of the House; whether he can inform the House what amount (if any) has been added to the £788,000 for the year ending 31st March 1879; whether he will endeavour to lay down a rule which will ensure that this House shall be kept informed of any large sums of money owing by one Department of State to another; and, whether he will direct that these sums of money, when they are paid by India, shall be handed over to the National Debt Commissioners, to be applied in the reduction of the National Debt?
§ THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUERSir, I am aware that the Committee of Public Accounts has reported that £788,000 is due by India to the Imperial Exchequer on account of the noneffective charge of Her Majesty's regiments serving during the three years to March 31, 1878. Under present arrangements the share of military pensions due by India on account of service in India is capitalized; an Estimate is made before the commencement of each financial year of the amount of such capitalization which will become due within the year; but during these three years, owing to exceptional circumstances, the pensions falling due have largely exceeded the anticipation, and the sum of £788,000 represents the balance not provided for in the Estimate framed for each of those years. The hon. Gentleman asks whether the debt has accrued in consequence of an agreement between the Secretary of State for India and the Secretary of State for War, under which India undertakes to pay to the War Office the ca- 49 pitalized value of such pensions in lump sums from year to year, and the War Office undertakes these payments as annual charge. The hon. Member correctly describes the arrangement under which India pays down, once and for all, the capital value of the pensions for which she is liable. I will consider with the Secretary of State for War if there are Papers on the subject which he can lay upon the Table. The capitalized value of the pensions falling due in any year cannot be ascertained until some time after the close of the year in which they fall due, and I am not able to say what increase of the debt due by India may have accrued in the year to the 31st of March, 1879. The Public Accounts Committee have made a representation upon this point, which will have my best attention. I am not prepared at present to state the conclusion at which Her Majesty's Government will arrive as to the appropriation of the sums paid over by India. I have an arrangement with India under consideration to enable her to meet the excessive charge of this non-effective service during the past few years, and the decision at which we arrive with respect to that arrangement will be made known to the Committee of Public Accounts and, if necessary, to Parliament.