§ Sir C. YATEasked the Secretary of State for India whether majors in the Royal Engineers in India of less than five years' service are now drawing under the revised rate of pay as laid down in A.I.I. 425 of 1920, R. 1,200 per mensem, whereas their rate of pay before the War was R. 1,130 plus exchange compensation allowance 75 rupees, or a total of R. 1,205; whether these revised rates of pay of officers in India, which were supposed to afford temporary relief to the officers concerned were based on a 2s. rupee; and now that the rupee has fallen to 1s. 3d. what exchange compensation or other allowance is to be granted to these officers to compensate them for the loss of so much of their income?
§ Mr. MONTAGUIt is the case that for a major of less than 5 years' service the new pay is 10 annas—not five rupees—less than before. It is due to a more even progressive grading, for at both earlier and later stages the new pay is considerably higher than the old. The new scales of pay were intended to be rupee scales not based on any special exchange value, and while I sympathise with the loss inflicted on officers by the present low exchange, which I hope may be only temporary, they benefit when a higher rate prevails. I am afraid I cannot hold out any expectation of a reversion to the system of exchange compensation allowance.