§ SIR SEYMOUR KING (Hull, Central)To ask the Under-Secretary of State for India whether, under War Office Regulations of 1908, officers of the British service are now eligible for pecuniary rewards upon qualifying as interpreters in modern foreign languages, whereas no rewards are granted by the Indian Military Regulations to officers of the Indian Army who similarly qualify as interpreters for European languages, except in Russia; whether, in July, 1908, Indian Army officers who passed, respectively, in German and in French were held to be debarred under existing rules from receiving the gratuity, whereas officers in the British service are eligible for all pecuniary rewards for passing in Oriental languages paid by the Government in India; and whether the Secretary of State will consider the advisability of admitting officers of the Indian Army to the same privilege in this respect as those enjoyed by British officers, with effect from the date of the War Office order introducing the new scale of rewards.
(Answered by Mr. Buchanan.) The facts are as indicated in the hon. 729 Member's Question. The Secretary of State will consult the Government of India as to the advisability of making officers of the Indian Army eligible for rewards for qualifying as interpreters in European languages other than Russian.