§ Major HILLSasked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether the mess allowance of 10s. a month, formerly payable to the president of each regimental mess in respect of the officers comprised in that mess, is now payable to such officers personally; if so, what is the reason of this alteration; whether no such allowance is paid to officers over the rank of major; whether the object of this change is economy at the expense of senior officers; and, if so, what is the approximate amount saved?
§ Mr. FORSTERThe answer to the first part of my hon. and gallant Friend's question is in the affirmative, but I would remind him that an individual grant was 51W also in existence for cases not covered by the regimental mess. The reason for the change was to simplify the issue of the grant, as it had become impossible for messes to make the necessary adjustments with each other in the very numerous cases of detached officers. The individual grant was never paid to officers above the rank of major, and the answer to the third part of the question is in the affirmative. As regards the last two parts of the question, as I have already explained, the object of the change was not economy, and I have no reason to suppose that any economy has resulted. The intention was neither to reduce nor to increase the expenditure, but merely to adopt for the War a more simple system of issue.