MR. GIBSON BOWLESI beg to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty has the Board of Admiralty made any recommendation for the sanction by an Order in Council of the alterations in rank and pay of certain naval officers and the other changes in the King's Regulations which had been decided and determined on by the Board on 16th December, 1902; and, if so, has an Order in Council been made giving such sanction, and on what date.
§ MR. ARNOLD-FORSTERThe changes announced in the Admiralty Memorandum, issued in December last, have not yet been embodied in an Order in Council, except as regards the pensions of chief petty officers, as the changes involved many minor alterations in the Regulations, all of which required careful consideration before receiving the authority of His Majesty in Council. Steps are being taken to carry out the required procedure before the 1st April, when the new scheme will come into operation.
§ MR. ARNOLD-FORSTERThe recommendations are being drawn up.