HC Deb 05 March 1855 vol 137 cc96-7
MR. LAYARD

said, he wished to ask the hon. Under Secretary of State for War whether any brigade and divisional orders had been issued in the army before Sebastopol, to the effect "that no questions must be answered by medical men attached to the forces without permission from head-quarters;" whereby medical men attached to the army were precluded from giving complete evidence to the Commission sent out to the East to inquire into the state of the medical department? Also, whether it was true that Dr. Lawson had been appointed to the superintendence of, or to any other high employment in, the hospitals of Scutari, Smyrna, or Rhodes; and, if so, by whose authority such appointment was made, and whether it had been sanctioned by the authorities at home?

VISCOUNT PALMERSTON

said, that he would answer the first question of his hon. Friend, and his hon. Friend the Under Secretary for War would reply to the second. Her Majesty's Government had received no official information of any such divisional or brigade orders as those to which his hon. Friend had alluded; but they had been informed by private correspondence that some such orders had been issued. He could only assure his hon. Friend that their meaning must have been that the medical officers were not to place themselves in communication with the Commission without authority so to do. He could not possibly conceive that the orders could have gone to the extent of, in any way, interfering with the functions of the Commission in obtaining every information necessary for the due performance of their duties. But his noble Friend at the head of the War Department had lately written out to inquire how the matter stood. At the present moment all that the Government knew about it was contained in a private letter, which, of course, could not be relied upon as being quite accurate or very minute in its details.

MR. FREDERICK PEEL

said, that in reply to the second question of the hon. Member for Aylesbury, he had to state that Lord Raglan, about the middle of January, had directed Dr. Lawson to proceed to the hospital at Scutari, where he had been placed in a subordinate capacity under the orders of Dr. Cumming, who was at the head of that hospital. There was no intention on the part of Government to place Dr. Lawson in charge of any hospital.

MR. LAYARD

Am I to understand Dr. Lawson was merely sent from the Crimea to the hospital, but not to take charge of it?

MR. FREDERICK PEEL

The general orders were, that he should proceed to Scutari and report himself to the officer at the head of the hospital, but not to take charge in any way.

MR. LAYARD

Was he not sent away from the Crimea after an investigation on a charge of misconduct? That is what I meant by the question.

MR. FREDERICK PEEL

He was sent from the Crimea after he was censured in a general order by Lord Raglan.