§ MR. WINSTON CHURCHILL (Oldham)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War, whether his attention has been called to the fact that different scales of rations were officially prescribed for the Regulars and Yeomanry respectively during the voyage of the s.s "Manchester Merchant," conveying reinforcements to the Cape, and that the Yeomanry scale was the more liberal. Will he state whether this is usual; and if so, whether he will take steps to put an end to the making of such distinction between soldiers of equal rank serving side by side under similar circumstances.
§ MR. ARNOLD-FORSTERAt the commencement of the war all regular 668 troops carried on transports, were victualled according to the prescribed official scale; when large bodies of irregular troops, raised under special conditions, were sent out, a special scale of victualling was drawn up for them. I believe that in a very few instances in the earlier stages of the war, men on the same ship were victualled on different scales. The practice was greatly to be deprecated, and has been discontinued. All soldiers of equal rank travelling on the same vessel are now treated on the same scale. All soldiers of the same rank on the "Manchester Merchant" on her later voyages were victualled on the same scale.