§ MR. CHANNINGI beg to ask the Secretary of State for War if he is aware that many of the local funds of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Association are exhausted, or nearly exhausted, with the result of serious reduction in the help given to the wives and children of men at the front; and whether Her Majesty's Government will now make provision from the Treasury to meet these cases.
* MR. J. POWELL-WILLIAMSI understand that the Soldiers' and Sailors' Association are making great efforts to maintain their grants. The Government grant to the married women is 1s. 1d. a day separation allowance, with 2d. for each child, while the allotment of pay by the soldier amounts to 4d., and a further 1d. a day for each child up to 6d. In the case of men in public employ before the war began the wife is granted half wages. Her Majesty's Government do not think it desirable to ask Parliament to raise the provision further from public funds.