§ MR. SMEATON (Stirlingshire)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War whether, in view of the fact that officers of the Indian Army now form part of the Imperial forces of the Crown, and are eligible for employment on the general staff of the Army, either at home or 1387 abroad, he is prepared to support the recommendation recently made by Lord Kitchener through the Secretary of State for India to the effect that any commissioned service by an Indian Army officer in a British regiment out of India prior to joining the Indian Staff Corps or Indian Army shall, to the extent of five years, be allowed to reckon as service towards Indian pension, and that any additional charge entailed thereby shall be treated as an Imperial charge.
§ MR. HALDANEThe recommendation mentioned has not at present been referred by the India Office to the Army Council, and until the matter is officially before me, I am unable to express an opinion upon it.