§ MR. BARKER (Penryn and Falmouth)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War whether, while a retired commissioned officer may commute part of his pension as early as forty years of age, and a pensioned non-commissioned officer or man at fifty, a retired warrant officer is debarred this privilege until he attains the age of fifty-five; and whether, in view of the fact that non-commissioned officers and warrant officers on returning to civil life are often seriously handicapped for want of means to make a start in business for themselves, he will cause the regulation regarding the commutation of pensions to be amended.
§ ‡ See (4) Debates, clii., 1326.
1403§ THE SECRETARY FOR WAR (Mr. HALDANE,) HaddingtonSome relaxation has recently been allowed in regard to the age at which retired officers are permitted to commute a portion of their retired pay, and I should like to make a somewhat similar concession in the case of retired warrant and non-commissioned officers and soldiers, where commutation was clearly to their advantage. The subject of commutation generally, however, is not altogether free from difficulty, and at present I can only say that I have it under my consideration.