§ SIR JAMES FERGUSSON (Manchester, N.E.)I beg to ask the Secretary 1299 of State for War whether he is aware that delay takes place in distributing the effects of soldiers dying in South Africa, and in the payment to their next of kin of the war grant of £5 due to their next of kin in case of death on active service, from which no deduction can be made on any account; whether the delay is due to the inexperience of the staff of clerks employed on these accounts; and whether a settlement could be accelerated by the adjustment being made by the quartermaster and colour sergeants at the regimental depots.
LORD STANLEYThe delay in distributing the estates of soldiers dying in. South Africa arises entirely from the exigencies of active service in a country 6,000 miles away, where regimental office work is only carried on under the greatest difficulty. To transfer the work from the large War Office staff, which has now got it thoroughly up to date, to the depôt staff, which is absolutely inexperienced in the work, would have the effect of indefinitely delaying the distribution. I may add that the war gratuity is as much a portion of the estate as any other asset, and is subject to the same statutory obligations, but it has recently been decided to issue it without waiting for the report of the estate provided the legal claim of the applicant is satisfactorily proved.