§ 81. Sir W. DAVISONasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he can now state when the claim for £1,000 made on the 12th October, 1918, by Mr. Austin Kendall, I.C.S., of 47, Wynnstay Gardens, Kensington, in respect of the loss occasioned to him by being torpedoed by the Germans on his way home from India in the "Multan," on 27th July, 1917, is likely to be paid; what is the cause of the prolonged delay in dealing with this claim, whereby serious inconvenience and loss are being caused to the applicant; and what is the total number of war claims still to be dealt with?
§ Mr. BALDWINThe answer to the first part of the question is in the negative. The delay in disposing of Mr. Austin Kendall's claim is due to the very large number of claims which have to be 1203 dealt with by the Royal Commission on Compensation for Suffering and Damage by Enemy Action. The number of claims remaining to be disposed of by the Commission is 52,473.
§ Sir W. DAVISONDoes the right hon. Gentleman not think that this is really becoming rather a scandal? It is four years since this claim was lodged, and no compensation has been paid. Serious loss and inconvenience has been caused to this gentleman—as I know personally —and what, therefore, about the other 52,000 applicants?
§ Mr. BALDWINMy hon. Friend is aware that the amount of money to be distributed is limited, but that to secure fair treatment we have aimed at investigating cases of hardship first; so that I hope in the course of the present year considerable progress will be made with the distribution.
§ Sir W. DAVISONCould not a grant-in-aid on account be given whereprima facie the claim was a just one?
§ Mr. BALDWINAlready special investigation has been made in cases of exceptional hardship.
§ Mr. GRITTENCan the right hon. Gentleman give any indication as to when the Committee will reach the cases of compensation to property—I understand they are now only dealing with personal claims?
§ Mr. BALDWINI should like notice of that.
| Number of Departments. | ||||||
| Date. | Senior Mixed. | Junior Boys. | Junior Girls. | Junior Mixed. | Infants. | |
| 31 January, 1919 | … | 288 | 62 | 59 | 793 | 8034 |
| 31 March, 1920 | … | 299 | 58 | 57 | 835 | 7,983 |
| 31 March, 1921 | … | 315 | 63 | 54 | 842 | 7,954 |
§ The numbers of men and women certificated head teachers of mixed departments were:
| On 31st March, 1920: | ||||
| Men | … | … | … | 9,385 |
| Women | … | … | … | 6,001 |
§ Mr. BALDWINI cannot reply to that without notice.
§ Mr. HAYDAYDoes this include the members of the mercantile services?
§ Mr. BALDWINNo.
§ Sir W. DAVISONWill the right hon. Gentleman think of increasing the personnel of the Commission, so that these cases can be dealt with a little more rapidly?