§ MR. SLOANTo ask the Under-secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is aware that Mr. J. Homagee, I. S. O., magistrate in St. Helena, has been reduced in salary by £30 after having completed forty years' service, and was entitled to a pension on his previous salary; whether, in view of the fact that this official remaining on active service is a saving of £400, he can say why his salary has been reduced: and if he will take action to have it restored.
(Answered by Mr. Churchill.) Mr. Homagee's salary was reduced at the beginning of this year, together with others, under a necessary scheme of retrenchment. Until the finances of St. Helena show a marked improvement it will be impossible to restore his and other salaries to their former figures, but Mr. Homagee has been promised that when the time comes for his retirement, his pension will be calculated on his previous and not on his present emoluments.