§ Mr. NIELDasked the Under-Secretary for India whether the Old Bengal Funds, subscribed to by the officers of the East India Company, still exist; and, if so, what is the amount, and how is the same invested, and in whose names; if the fund is not now in existence, will he say what became of it or the investments representing it, and were the subscribers consulted as to the disposal of the fund; and, if any portion of the fund exists, will he explain why it cannot be applied for the relief of widows and orphans of those former subscribers to the fund who are not eligible for on in receipt of a pension, and who are in distressed circumstances?
§ Mr. HAROLD BAKERThe Bengal Military Fund and the Bengal Military Orphan Society, to which officers of the Bengal Army subscribed, were closed to fresh entrants in 1862, and the Bengal Civil Fund, to which members of the Bengal Civil Service subscribed, was closed in 1879. With the consent of the subscribers, the assets and liabilities were transferred to Government on 10th September, 1866, under 29 Vict., cap. 18, in the case of the first two funds, and on 1st June, 1885, under 40 and 46 Vict., cap 45, in the case of the Bengal Civil Fund. The capital of the three funds was £688,927, £557,082, and £1,908,469, respectively. The capital of the Bengal Military Fund was exhausted in 1874–75 and that of the Bengal Military Orphan Society in 1889–90 in making good an excess of payments in respect of pensions over receipts from subscribers. The present payments in respect of pensions are many times larger than the subscriptions received. The liabilities in respect of the Bengal Civil Fund, increased by additional benefits conceded at the time of transfer, are such that any further concession would be at the expense of the revenues of India. The average payment in respect of pensions during the last five years has exceeded subscriptions by about £145,000 a year.