§ Brigadier-General Clifton Brownasked the Secretary of State for India whether he is aware that in the Indian Command stoppages of four rupees a day are made in an officer's pay in hospital when illness has been contracted west of the Brahmaputra, which money is not paid to the hospital concerned; and, in view of the fact that an officer holding temporary rank usually loses also the salary of that rank in hospital, will he take steps to abolish such a penalty for illness contracted on service in unhealthy climatic conditions.
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§ Mr. AmeryHospital stoppages are not a penalty. They are levied under both British and Indian rules and correspond approximately to the charge the officer would otherwise have paid for messing, etc. As a concession, however, they are not levied on officers admitted to hospital from a field service area. In North-East India the Brahmaputra constitutes the western boundary of such an area, and officers serving west of the river are treated in accordance with the ordinary rules. An officer does not usually lose his temporary rank in hospital. The Indian rule on the subject is the same as the War Office rule. Under it the officer retains acting and temporary rank for four months from the date he is struck off duty.