§ SIR FREDERICK PERKINSasked the Secretary to the Treasury, Whether it is true that Thomas Box, now sixty-seven years of age and in declining health, who had been employed at the Southampton Borough Gaol for twenty-three years, and who had earned the su- 1176 perannuation allowance of two-thirds of his salary under the new Prisons Act of 1877,has lost this rate of pension through ignorance of the strict ruling of the same, and this in opposition to a very strong desire on the part of the Corporation still to pay him the full rate of allowance; and, if these facts are correctly stated, whether Her Majesty's Government will be pleased to consider the case, and empower the Southampton Corporation to pay out of their funds the full superannuation allowed under the Act?
§ SIR HENRY SELWIN-IBBETSONSir, under the 36th section of the Prisons Act the Treasury had power to grant Box as much as two-thirds of his salary, but before they exercised this power, it was necessary that the local authority should furnish certain information required by a Circular issued by the Home Secretary on December 21, 1878. The Corporation of Southampton had not chosen, until three days ago, to furnish such information, and, in consequence, Box was pensioned on the scale of the Superannuation Act, 1859. Now that the information has been received, it will be considered immediately, and if found, as I believe it will be found, satisfactory, Box's pension will be re assessed.