§ 14. Colonel ROUNDELLasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether he is aware that large quantities of goods, namely, rum, requisitioned by the Admiralty for the use of the Fleet in the years 1917 and 1918, have not yet been fully paid for, the amount offered by the Admiralty having been decided, first by the High Court, and secondly by the War Compensation Court, to be insufficient; whether, although the principles on which payment for these goods ought to be made were laid down by the War Compensation Court in a case brought for the purpose of determining this question, in which judgment was given on 7th November, 1921, the Admiralty have stated to the representatives of other claimants, exceeding 100 in number, whose cases depend on the same principles, that they do not intend to be bound by the principles so laid down; whether he is aware that the Admiralty have stated that they do not intend to pay interest on these sums due for goods taken over four years ago; and what action he proposes to take in the matter?
§ Mr. AMERYFull payment of the amount awarded by the War Compensation Court has been made in the only case in which it has yet been decided by that Court that the amounts previously paid or offered by the Admiralty were insufficient. The Admiralty, after careful inquiry into the facts of the various outstanding claims, have been forced to the conclusion that it is not possible to treat as of general application the conclusions arrived at by the War Compensation Court on the facts given in evidence in that case. The proper course, which 1204 has throughout been open to all the claimants, and has been already adopted by some of them, is to apply to the War Compensation Court if they consider themselves entitled to any further payment beyond that which has already been made or offered by the Admiralty. Any claim for interest on such further payment would be a matter for the Court.