§ 73. Mr. FALLEasked the First Lord of the Admiralty if he is aware that a number of men of the Royal Marine Artillery would willingly, after completing twenty-one years' service for pension, extend their services for five years if they could receive an assurance that the pensions already accrued to them by their service of twenty-one years could under no circum stances be diminished as a result of acts of theirs during the five years' extension of service; and if he will give such an assurance?
§ Mr. CHURCHILLIt is not desirable that men should continue to serve in large 839 numbers after completing time for pension, as by so doing they tend to block promotion for the ranks below. As previously stated, men are allowed to continue their service in exceptional cases, and I do not think that they are deterred from volunteering by the possibility that they might forfeit their pensions for some very serious offence.