§ MR. ONSLOWasked the Secretary of State for India, If he will state whether any Memorials from "Local" Officers on the Cadres of the late Bengal, Madras, or Bombay Cavalry have been received at the India Office in England, or by the authorities in India, for submission to Parliament; whether he is now prepared to announce what remedial measures he has suggested for the alleviation of the depressed position of the "Local" Cavalry Officers in the junior grades; and, whether any hope of their early promulgation may be entertained by the Officers concerned?
THE MARQUESS OF HARTINGTONMany Memorials from officers of the local Cavalry lists of the three Presidencies, representing the slowness of their actual promotion, have been received through the Government of India; but I am not aware that any have been addressed to Parliament. In September 852 the Government of India were authorized to give effect to their proposals for ameliorating the position of the officers of the local Cavalry suffering from retarded promotion. I believe these measures will remove all legitimate grounds of complaint. They are, briefly, to give to all the officers on the lists the option of coming prospectively under the Staff Corps Rules of substantive promotion, with Staff Corps rate of pay and the attainment of colonels' allowances at Staff Corps officers' rates—namely, £1,124 yearly after 38 years' service. Should all the officers concerned—61 in number—accept these terms, which are, of course, optional, the additional cost will not fall short of £70,000 yearly. The Government of India will, doubtless, lose no time in promulgating the terms thus authorized.