asked the Under-Secretary of State for India how many officials in the different European Civil Services have retired in each province under the proportionate pensions scheme since the offer was first made; and whether there is any reason to believe that these retirements are due to dissatisfaction with the conditions of pay and prospects in those Services?

I will circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT a statement giving the figures, which, I should explain, represent the number of applications for permission to retire received and sanctioned by my Noble Friend. But in many cases the retirement has not yet actually taken place, as the applicants all have a considerable period of leave at their credit, which they are entitled to take before going on pension; and in some cases they have not yet left India. In a few cases, too, permission to retire has been cancelled at the request of the applicants who have changed their minds. As regards the second part of the question, I have no reliable information as to the motives of those applicants, who are not required to make any further declaration