§ 18. Mr. WINDSORasked the Secretary of State for War what is the cost of transporting a soldier's wife and three children to India: whether, in the event of the woman refusing to travel to India, she forfeits the marriage allowance for herself and children; and, if so, whether, in the circumstances, the compulsory deduction of 2s. a day from the soldier's pay is still made and forwarded to the wife?
§ Captain KINGAs regards the first part of the question, the cost would depend on the age of the children, but, assuming two of the children are between two and eight years old and the third is over eight years, the cost would be £54, approximately. The answer to the second part is in the affirmative; and, to the third, that, when the soldier's wife is not in receipt of marriage allowance, the compulsory deduction of 2s. a day from the soldier's pay is not made, but the soldier retains the right to allot voluntarily a portion of his pay for payment to his wife.
§ 19. Mr. WINDSORasked the Secretary of State for War what is the marriage allowance payable to the wife of a private in the Army, and the allowance payable in respect of children; and whether a woman who has her home in London is compelled to break up the home and go into barracks in another part of the kingdom when ordered, under pain of forfeiting the marriage allowance?
§ Captain KINGThe marriage allowance for the wife of a private soldier is 7s. a week; the allowance payable in respect of children is as follows:
| s. | d. |
| 6 | 6 for the 1st child. |
| 4 | 6 for the 2nd child. |
| 2 | 0 for the 3rd and 4th child. |
| 1 | 6 for the 5th and 6th child. |
| 1 | 0 for each child more than six. |
§ The allowance is conditional upon the soldier and his wife residing together, unless they are separated by the exig- 264 encies of the service. As a general rule, therefore, marriage allowance is forfeited if the wife fails to accompany her husband to the place where he is quartered; but, if the hon. Member considers that there is any special feature in the case he has in mind, and will let me have details of it, I will have it investigated.