§ MR. BELLAIRS (Lynn Regis)To ask the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he has had under consideration the hardship inflicted on men who have entrusted their savings for the payment of mess debts to a mess caterer who subsequently deserts with the money; and whether, in conjunction with the pay department of the ships, or in the case of destroyers with the pay department of the parent ship, some more responsible system can be adopted.
(Answered by Mr. McKenna.) This point has been met, for all practical purposes, by the new victualling system which came into force on 1st October last. Under this system the canteen tenant must submit a statement to the commanding officer, within forty-eight hours of the payment of the messing allowances, showing what debts are still due to him from messes, thus greatly reducing the possibility of misappropriation. Further, in all ships bearing an accountant officer, the paymaster himself settles the mess debt with the canteen out of the money due to the mess. It is not considered practicable or desirable for the Admiralty to go further than this.