§ MR. A. MOOREasked the Secretary of State for India, Whether his attention has been called to the position of Roman Catholic chaplains serving the troops in India; whether it is a fact that, in addition to their being paid on a scale very much lower than that of their Protestant and Presbyterian colleagues, they are also declared disentitled to any leave, whether sick leave or privilege leave, or furlough whatsoever; whether this regulation is so strictly enforced that, when ordered 1711 from one station to another, all allowances cease from the moment of departure from the one to arrival at the other; whether there is any parallel for such treatment amongst any of the civil, military, or uncovenanted servants of Government in India; whether it is also the case that no provision is made for pension or retiring allowance, no matter what the length of service may be; and, whether he will take steps to remedy these grievances?
THE MARQUESS OF HARTINGTONSir, the arrangements for the performance of all religious services for the Roman Catholic soldiery in India are made by the Archbishop or other Provincial head of that Church. All the personal details are managed by him, and it is he who deputes the several priests for the duties. For this superintendence and for the maintenance of registers of marriages, burials, &c, in Roman Catholic chapels, he receives a monthly allowance from the State, and this allowance has been increased within the last three or four years. The executive duties are paid for according to the number of Roman Catholic soldiers and Government servants in the garrison. The priests employed on these duties are not appointed by the Government, and they are liable to be removed or exchanged by their Bishop without any formal reference to the Government. They are thus on a totally different footing from Church of England or Presbyterian chaplains, inasmuch as they belong to no establishment, and are not Government servants, either covenanted or uncovenanted. No comparison can, therefore, be sustained. The services of the Roman Catholic priests being neither personally continuous nor at the permanent disposal of the State, neither leave rules nor pension rules would be applicable to them. The non-application of such rules cannot, under these circumstances, be rightly considered a grievance, neither can it be a grievance that, as individuals, they receive remuneration on a lower scale than those who are bound by strict conditions to the service of Government in India.