§ SIR T. ESMONDE (Dublin Co., S.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland if the amount payable from the Constabulary Force Fund to the widow of a pensioner is calculated upon the amount of pay drawn by him while serving in the Force, and also upon the amount of pension drawn by him as a pensioner; if he is compelled to subscribe to the fund while serving in the Force; and whether if he does not subscribe when on pension his widow or his children have no claim upon the fund?
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURThe amount payable from the Constabulary Force Fund to the widow of a pensioner is calculated upon the amount of pay drawn by him while serving, and (except in the case of pensioners who retired before April 1st, 1867) an addition is made in respect of the amount of pension drawn. All officers and men of the Force appointed prior to the Constabulary Act of 1883, are compelled by Statute to subscribe to the fund so long as they are actually serving. Subscription to the fund on the part of a pensioner is voluntary. It is the case that a married member of the Force must, in order to 1069 secure the existing claim of his wife or children against the fund, subscribe when on pension. The claim otherwise lapses.