§ SIR J. LENG (Dundee)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for War 916 what is the present amount of the Soldiers' Effects Fund; what has been the average sum by which it has been augmented during the last three years; and whether as the Royal Commissioners have reported there are still many hundreds of widows of Crimean soldiers whose claims have not been met, this fund can be applied for their benefit.
* MR. J. POWELL-WILLIAMSThe present amount of the fund is £159,683, and the average sum by which it has been augmented during the last three years is £6,278. The fund is a diminishing fund, and is not available for cases of widows whose husbands did not die on service or within six months of discharge.