§ SIR G. CHESNEY (Oxford)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, with reference to the statement made by him, in reply to the question put by the hon. Member for Oxford City on the 12th of January last, relative to the portions of the pension erroneously withheld from Colonel Rich, late Bengal Engineers, and Senior Inspector Railway Department of the Board of Trade, to the effect that it had been determined by the Treasury to treat military pay as not coming within the provisions of Section 16 of the Act 4 & 5 Will. 4, c. 24; that all awards of Civil Service superannuations which had been reduced on a different construction of the section would be recalculated; that this alteration of practice would affect all officers in receipt of Army or Navy retired pay who entered the Civil Service of the Crown before the passing of the Superannuation Act of 1887; whether he is aware that this adjustment has not yet been carried out in the case of Colonel Rich, either as regards the rate of pension now being paid to him, or the arrears of pension erroneously deducted from him between the years 1886 and 1891; and whether measures will now be taken to complete that adjustment accordingly, in pursuance of the announcement made as above, and of the opinion of the Law Officers of the Crown cited in the question referred to?
§ SIR J. T. HIBBERTThis question seems to rest on some misapprehension. Colonel Rich's pension was re-assessed last February, and increased from £435 to £500, as from the 1st of January, 1892, the date of his retirement from the Civil Service. The additional sum due under this award was paid to him on the 10th of March, and the pension has been paid to him since that date at the higher rate. Full effect has, therefore, been given to the Treasury decision.