§ MR. WATTTo ask the Secretary of State for War if his attention has been called to the case of Sergeant James M'Ewan, late of the 1st West Yorkshire regiment, who served five years, including the Mutiny Campaign, in the 2nd European Bengal Fusiliers, took his discharge from that regiment and entered civil life, afterwards re-enlisted in the 1st West Yorkshire, in which he served twenty-one years, thus earning a pension of 1s. 5d. per day in respect of that second service; whether he is aware that M'Ewan, having attained the age of seventy years and being in possession of the war medal, has become entitled to an additional pension of 1s. a day in respect of the Indian Mutiny service, but that the authorities in granting this second pension have reduced it to 5d. a day instead of 1s., making 1s. 10d. a day in all; and if he will explain the reason of this deduction.
(Answered by Mr. Secretary Haldane.) This man is not entitled to an additional pension of 1s. for his Mutiny service. If my hon. Friend will refer to Article 1092 (f) of the Pay Warrant he will find that old soldiers in necessitous circumstances who are seventy years of age must be in receipt of a pension of less than 1s. a day to entitle them to an increase up to the rate of 1s. a day. Further, M'Ewan's service in the European Bengal Fusiliers 909 did not reckon for Army pension, as he took his discharge therefrom at his own request. As a special case, however, he has been granted an increase to his Imperial pension of 5d. a day, making his total pension 1s. 10d. a day, the rate to which he would have been entitled had his service in the Bengal Fusiliers reckoned towards pension.