COLONEL KNOXsaid, he begged to ask the hon. Under Secretary for War whether his attention had been called to a paragraph in The Times newspaper of the 12th instant, to the effect that the invalid soldiers at Chatham were very much discontented at portions of their pay being withheld from them; and what steps the Government intended to take in the matter? He would read the passage from The Times to which he had referred—
Great discontent prevails among the invalids from the Crimea now in quarters at the Casemate, Barracks, Chatham, against the Government for not paying their arrears; some of them have not been paid since the 31st of August last; and a number of the men, since they came home, have been discharged without receiving the money due to them. The invalids now remaining feel that they will be treated in the same way, although they have made frequent applications to the officials of the invalid depôt. They are told that the returns from their regiments have not 853 been received. They complain most earnestly, as they want the money. Some of the non-commissioned officers have wives and families to support, and have as much as 10l. due to them.
§ MR. FREDERICK PEELsaid, he had been told that the number of invalids at Chatham entitled to arrears of pay was very inconsiderable, since all who had left Scutari hospital since the 1st of April had had their pay. There were, no doubt, many invalids who arrived prior to the 1st of April in respect to whom some difficulties had occurred, but their claims were being gradually disposed of. It should, however, be remembered that those men had been receiving full pay ever since their arrival in England; it was, therefore, hardly true to say that there were any men who had not received pay since the month of August.
COLONEL KNOXsaid, he wished to know whether any steps had been taken to forward to this country the pay lists of the army?
§ MR. FREDERICK PEELsaid, that at the present time the pay lists were transmitted with great regularity.