General. Every member of the Service, married or unmarried, was bound to subscribe, but the married men paid nearly double the unmarried rate, and the contributions for children's pensions were levied only from the parents concerned.
This system lasted until 1880, when the Secretary of State, with due reservation of vested interests, abolished the Presidency funds, and undertook the provision of family pensions as a charge on Indian revenues. Although no separate fund now exists, and everything depends upon the pleasure of the Secretary of State, the pensions continue to be provided on the same principles as formerly, but on a less liberal scale. Every member of the Service, married or unmarried, is still bound by covenant to subscribe. A considerable donation is exacted at the time of marriage, varying from £64 to £600, according to the age of the husband, and the disparity between his age and that of his bride. The subscriptions for widows' pensions range from £20 to £116 a year for married, and from £15 to
