§ LORD TWEEDMOUTHrose "To ask the Under-Secretary of State for India whether any, and if so, what, assistance is to be rendered by Government to those British officers of Goorkha regiments who suffered heavy loss by the destruction of their houses, with their effects, at the time of the recent earthquake at Dharmsala."
He said: My Lords, the case that I wish to bring before your Lordships is simple and urgent, and I think will 714 commend itself to your sympathy. The terrible earthquake that took place in India is still fresh in the recollection of all of us, together with the terrible loss of life and property which was involved. The place which, above all others, suffered was Dharmsala, and, of those who suffered there, I suppose the greatest burden of loss fell on His Majesty's gallant little Goorkhas. It is not the general question that I wish to direct your Lordships' attention to; it is to the case of the European officers of those Goorkha regiments, who have suffered in a very peculiar manner, but one which certainly is quite capable of being easily remedied. Ten of these British Goorkha officers have lost their houses, which were destroyed by the earthquake. Their mess-house and the quarters built by the mess for bachelor officers were also destroyed. These houses were built owing to the Government of India providing no other accommodation. The Government provided these men with no barrack accommodation; they made them, no allowance for barrack accommodation; there was an allowance made for what is called tentage, but a tent at Dharmsala is not a very suitable or healthy residence for men permanently there, for they are subject at one season of the year to violent tropical rains, and at another season to the falls of snow of the Himalayas.
The Government of India have themselves acknowledged that tents are not suitable places for British officers to live in, for when you look at the public buildings you find that the stores, hospitals, and magazines are all of an extremely substantial nature. The Government have acknowledged the necessity of this housebuilding, because when an officer desires to build a house the Government are ready to advance the sum necessary for the purpose by way of loan. The loan is repayable by the officer in monthly instalments, and when those instalments are paid off the house becomes the officer's own property. The amount of these loans is small, and some further money is always required to come out of the pockets of the officers themselves. These houses have been destroyed, and with them has gone the personal property of the officers in question. To force 715 these men to live in tents is to submit them to grave danger of fever, and is certainly not desirable for the men themselves or advantageous to His Majesty's service.
What is now being done, as I understand, is that these officers are, at their own expense, putting up wooden huts in which to get shelter during the rainy season which is now coming on. There is no power on the part of the Government to order them to put up these huts, and it does seem to me that this is a case which deserves the favourable and serious consideration of the Government of India. I hope my noble friend the Under-Secretary will be able to assure me that it is going to receive that favourable consideration, and that some considerable effort will be made to relieve the officers from the loss which has fallen on them, not through any fault of their own, but by what I may term an act of God.
§ THE UNDER-SECRETARY OF STATE FOR INDIA (The MARQUESS of BATH)My Lords, I can assure my noble friend that the Government of India and the Secretary of State here fully acknowledge the equity of the case which he has presented to your Lordships. I may remind your Lordships that the Secretary of State the other day gave certain information in another place with regard to the intention of the Government of India. They have recommended a grant of 60,500 rupees towards rebuilding the mess and the private houses. They have also made other grants towards the mess funds and furniture, the regimental institutes, etc. A part of these grants will be met by sums from Lord Kitchener's fund, which has also granted a considerable sum towards the loss of personal property. In addition, there are the pensions, gratuities, and the compensation for the loss of clothing and equipment sustained by the Goorkhas themselves. It has been decided also to issue free passages to the families and widows who have been obliged to return to England on account of the earthquake. Moreover, there are, of course, the questions of pensions and gratuities to the injured officers, and also pensions to 716 the families and widows of those who were killed, which will be granted on the intermediate scale by which the widows get 50 per cent., and the children 25 per cent, more than the ordinary rate. I have only to add that the Secretary of State has expressed his desire and intention of acting under the Royal Warrant in as liberal a manner as possible in order to relieve the officers and men of the misfortune under which they have suffered. I trust that this information will be satisfactory to my noble friend.