§ CAPTAIN NORTON (Newington, W.)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War whether it has been brought to his notice that a certain number of Crimean and Indian Mutiny veterans serving as messengers in the War Office were recently retired at sixty instead of sixty-five years of age, the Treasury age limit, limit still applicable to messengers in their Government offices; and whether, 1030 seeing that these men are now reduced to their Army pension of a few pence a day, he will consider the advisability of granting them some small increase of pension to keep them from penury in their declining years.
*LORD STANLEYThe case of these men has been explained to the House on a previous occasion. In the War Office it is essential that the messengers should be active and able-bodied. It was accordingly found necessary to fix the age for retirement of temporary messengers at sixty. All such men who have fifteen years service as such receive a gratuity on discharge in addition to the Army pension of which they may be in receipt. I am afraid that it is not possible to do anything more for them as suggested.