§ 19. Mr. HAYES FISHERasked the Home Secretary whether, in the present state of the law and in the absence of any additional grant from the Exchequer, the additional charge on the Metropolitan Police Fund necessitated by the War allowance of 3s. a week to the Metropolitan police will be borne wholly by the ratepayers in the Metropolitan police district, and thus alter to the advantage of the Exchequer and the disadvantage of the Metropolitan ratepayers the proportion of the cost of the police hitherto raised from those two sources?
§ Mr. McKENNAIn the case of police officers employed by the Government the Exchequer will pay the whole. The rest of the charge will fall on the Metropolitan Police Fund, but I am unable at present to say whether it will involve any additional charge on the Metropolitan ratepayer, as the expenditure will be balanced to a large extent by the savings on account of constables who have joined the military forces or have been lent to the War Office and Admiralty.