§ MR. CATHCART WASON (Orkney and Shetland)I beg to ask the Lord Advocate if the Government, recognising the hardship inflicted on Scottish teachers who were in office before the passing of the Teachers' Superannuation Act, inasmuch as by their acceptance of that Act they are deprived of any pension from their school boards, will grant to such teachers, on their being compelled to retire, such augmentation of their superannuation allowance as will make their pensions equal to those of teachers coming tinder the Act after it became law.
§ * THE LORD ADVOCATE (Mr. A. GRAHAM MURRAY,) ButeshireThe 1440 amount of the superannuation allowance under the Teachers' Superannuation Act is fixed by the terms of the Act, and the Government have no power to increase that allowance. It is made to teachers in office before the passing of the Act on a higher scale than to others. But I am not prepared to admit that they can establish a claim to be put on a level with teachers who contribute to the Annuity Fund during the whole of their service. The acceptance of the Act by existing teachers was optional, but they were aware when exercising their choice that the acceptance of the Act deprived them of any pension from a school board.