§ LORD CHARLES BERESFORDI beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he can see his way to grant to captains and commanders the six weeks in full pay granted to all other officers when ships of the Royal Navy are paid off; whether he will take into consideration the question of officers abroad on active service having to pay Income Tax, with a view of relieving them in this case; and, whether he will take into consideration the present system of putting officers on sick leave or invalided home on half-pay, with a view of proposing some alteration in favour of such officers?
§ THE FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTYIf the noble Lord had had a glimpse into the Admiralty papers of the last month or two, he would have seen that proposals covering the subjects of his first and third questions were under the earnest consideration of the Board. What conclusion may be arrived at by Her Majesty's Government I am as yet unable to say. As regards the other Question, a precisely similar inquiry was addressed in March 1896, by the hon. Member for South-East Essex, to my right, hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who stated in reply that Income Tax could not be remitted in the case of Naval officers serving afloat without conceding a similar remission to all other public servants serving abroad, and I doubt whether he would consent to my giving any other answer at the present moment.