§ MR. O'SHEAasked the Secretary of State for War, Whether any improvement has been made in the scale of allowances to the wives and children of soldiers on active service?
§ MR. CHILDERSYes, Sir; I took up this question last year, and I am happy to say that the improvements which we made in the scale of allowances have been found very satisfactory. Formerly the separation allowances in the case of all married soldiers were 6d. for the wife and 2d. for each of the children up to 14 years, and the soldier was not required to supplement these allowances out of his pay. Now the wife of a non-commissioned officer receives 8d. a-day from the public and 8d. out of her husband's pay, and the wife of a private 8d. from the public and 4d. from her husband. Similarly, the allowances for the children are—from the public 2d. for each child (the limit for female children being raised to 16 years of age), while in the case of sergeants 1½d., and in the case of rank and file, 1d. for each child (up to a certain maximum) is stopped from the soldier's pay.