§ COLONEL PALMER (Gravesend)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for India what steps were taken at the India Office in the case of Captain Balsir Chatterton before acting on it to ascertain whether the Report of 5th January, 1869, that this officer was malingering, was true before placing him upon half-pay; and whether, under the provisions of Act 21 and 22 Vict. c. 106, s. 56, Her Majesty's royal prerogative could be properly exercised by the Secretary of State without inquiry upon the face of such Report?
MR. GEORGE RUSSELLCaptain Chatterton was not placed on half-pay for malingering, but in the Despatch of 5th January, 1869, the Commander-in-Chief in India and the Government of India recommended his removal to the half-pay list as an officer whose retention on the effective list was in every way most undesirable. The case was fully considered by the Secretary of State for India, who, after consulting H.R.H. the Commander-in-Chief, concurred in this recommendation, and placed Captain Chatterton on half-pay accordingly.