§ MR. HANBURY TRACYsaid, he would beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty, If he will take into consideration the propriety of creating a few temporary pensions out of the Greenwich Hospital Estates, for the benefit of the distinguished Flag Officers who were retired by Order in Council in 1860, without any compensation whatever, and have now but little prospect of receiving the ordinary Greenwich Hospital Pension?
§ MR. CHILDERSreplied, that in 1865 a charge was made on the Greenwich Hospital income for pensions for certain officers, and of these 10 were to be granted to flag officers on the active list to induce them to retire. That was a questionable arrangement, and it was altered by the plan of retirement adopted two months ago, which provided that these pensions should only be given to retired flag officers. This arrangement had been found to be very satisfactory. The hon. Gentleman asked him to extend these pensions and give more of them to the officers referred to. His (Mr. Childers') difficulty was that there had always been a great objection to charging the Greenwich Hospital income with pensions for officers, and he feared that, if he carried further to any large extent the provisions of the Act of 1865, there would be naturally considerable objection raised. The state of things was this—out of 10 pensions granted only nine had been actually assigned. One had never yet been appropriated, and would not be assigned until the death of an officer who had been an officer in Greenwich Hospital. He would not 970 make any promise; but he would consider whether this additional pension might not now be granted.