§ MR. CAINE (Cornwall, Camborne)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War if he is aware that Private Edwin, T. Paynter, No. 25,336, C. M. and C, base details, Woodstock, Cape Town, arranged, on enlisting at Cape Town in January last, to send home part of his pay to his wife, resident at 2, Victoria Street, Camborne, which part pay has never been received by her; and if he has yet received any definite information with regard to the number of similar cases of allotted pay which have never been received by the wives and families in this country.
§ THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY TO THE WAR OFFICE (LORD STANLEY, Lancashire, Westhoughton)The men whose remittances the hon. Member complains have not been sent home, belong to local corps. We have no knowledge of the addresses of the wives, of the amount said to be remitted, or in fact whether any remittance at all has been made. We last cabled on 16th April, asking for remittance roll, and saying that delay was serious, and confirmed this cable by post the next day, but so far have had no answer. We again cabled on Tuesday, and have inquired about the specific case mentioned by the hon. Member. The difficulty doubtless arises from the fact that many of the men are up country, and the Paymaster at Cape Town finds it difficult to communicate with them. Meanwhile any application made to the War Office for assistance will be considered, and money will be advanced if the woman can produce reliable evidence that it was her husband's intention to remit.
§ MR. CAINEIs it necessary for the paymaster to send up country to these men to know whether or not they have made allotments? He surely ought to know?
§ LORD STANLEYI think the hon. Member is under a misapprehension. These men have been enlisted all over the country, not merely in Cape Town.