§ MR. MILLSsaid, he would beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty, 843 Whether it is true that a pension or gratuity has been refused to Mr. W. Barnes, who has served for upwards of twenty-five years as Admiralty Pilot at Woolwich, and, if so, for what reason; and what steps are being taken to secure the occupation of the Dockyard at Woolwich as soon as possible after the Government Establishment there is closed?
§ MR. CHILDERSsaid, in reply, that an Order in Council, passed in 1819, deprived the Admiralty of the power to grant such a pension, on the ground that the payment of full rate as Admiralty pilot, which Mr. Barnes had received, was sufficient. A pension was applied for by Mr. Barnes on the ground that, in 1847, he fell down the hold of a ship, but the application was not acceded to. With regard to Woolwich Dockyard, no eligible offers had been made for it, but the Admiralty would take means to let their intentions be known.