§ Mr. CHARLES DUNCANasked the First Lord of the Admiralty if he will say why the allowance payable to certain positions at the Admiralty has been reduced for future appointments from £40 to £25 per annum; whether any of the favourable minor changes in the clerical staffs of the naval establishments affect salaries; and, if so, will they be antedated to 1st April, 1910, the date when the reduction in the London allowance was put into operation?
§ Mr. McKENNACertain writers and draughtsmen while serving at the Admiralty are granted an allowance to compensate them for the extra cost of living in London as compared with that of living in the dockyard towns. The allowance has recently been reduced from £40 to £25 a year for future appointments, because the difference between the cost of living in London and in the dockyard towns is not sufficient to justify a continuance of the higher rate. The reply to the second part of the question is in the affirmative. The changes in salaries referred to will be dated back to the 11th March, 1910.