§ MR. DANEI beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury upon what grounds the 1086 Treasury refused to act upon the recommendation of the Ordnance Council to grant to the widow of Major General Noble, R.A., an increase of £200 a year pension in consideration of the valuable services rendered by her husband in respect of the introduction of improvements in the manufacture of gunpowder; and will the Treasury reconsider the matter?
§ *SIR J. T. HIBBERTThe War Office endorsed the opinion of the Ordnance Committee that Major General Noble had rendered valuable service by introducing improvements in gunpowder and the manufacture thereof, and in arrangements for obtaining supplies of acids, by which a considerable saving was effected in the cost of gun-cotton. The recommendation referred to was, therefore, a proposal to recognise General Noble's services as an inventor, which should, if the War Office are satisfied that the case is good, be rewarded in the manner that inventors are usually rewarded. The Treasury objected to meet the case by a relaxation of the pension regulations. These regulations are liberal, and should, in their opinion, be strictly observed.