MAJOR STUART KNOXsaid, he wished to ask Mr. Attorney General, Whether it is true that a pension has been granted by the Lord Chancellor to Mr. Winslow, late one of the Masters in Lunacy; and, if so, the amount of such pension, the grounds upon which it was granted, and whether it was refused by a former Chancellor?
THE ATTORNEY GENERALSir, the pension granted by the present Lord Chancellor to Mr. Winslow is one of £1,000 a year, by an order made upon the 3rd of February, 1863. The grounds upon which it was granted were these:— Mr. Winslow served for nearly thirty years, thirteen of which were in the office of Commissioner of Lunacy, and seventeen more as Master in Lunacy. On the 4th of February, 1859, he presented a petition to Lord Chancellor Chelmsford, stating that he desired to retire upon a pension, and that he was labouring under serious and permanent infirmities. That petition was supported by unexceptional certificates from two physicians and one surgeon. Before, however, anything was done upon that petition, Mr. Winslow was obliged to resign his office, owing to the pressure of pecuniary difficulties: and Lord Chancellor 1041 Chelmsford afterwards left office without making any order upon it. Therefore, according to the information I have received, it is not correct, as assumed by the question of the hon. and gallant Gentleman, that any former Lord Chancellor ever refused this pension. Under these circumstances there followed a delay in the prosecution of the petition of rather more than two years. On the 31st of July, 1862, the present Lord Chancellor received a further petition from Mr. Winslow, supported by affidavits and strong letters and testimonials, urging the claims of Mr. Win-slow for long and valuable services. Those letters were from Lord Brougham, Lord Lyndhurst, under whom he had served, Lord Justice Knight Bruce, Vice Chancellor Stuart, the Lord Chief Baron, Mr. Montagu Smith, Mr. Bovill, Mr. Malins, and Mr. Commissioner Holroyd. Lord Chelmsford also wrote a letter to Mr. Commissioner Holroyd, saying—
That it would give him great pleasure to see that the Lord Chancellor had taken a favourable view of Mr. Winslow's petition, and that he believed it would be gratifying to the whole profession.With these papers before him, the Lord Chancellor, having obtained the opinion of a very eminent counsel, Mr. Bacon, on his authority to deal with the case, and having also advised with the Law Officers of the Crown, made an order upon the two petitions, after deliberate consideration, granting a pension, not at the maximum of £1,200 a year, but at £1,000 or £200 less.