MR. O'BRIENasked the Secretary of State for War, Whether his attention has been called to the case of Patrick Gorman, of Mallow, a pensioner of the 19th Foot, 74 years of age, who was lamed and lost the use of his sight in the British service; whether Gorman served in the Army with two honourable distinctions for 19 years and 141 days, and was discharged in 1847 in consequence of injuries received by the bite of a scorpion in Demerara; whether he was drafted into the local Reserve Force in 1848, and was called up for drill yearly until 1870, when he fell ill during training and lost his sight; whether, notwithstanding this additional service of 22 1621 years in the Reserve, and his disablement while so serving, together with the breaking-out afresh of his old wound, he received no addition to the ten-pence a-day therefore granted to him; and, whether anything can be done, in consideration of his 41 years' service, to relieve him from penury in his helpless old age?
THE MARQUESS OF HARTINGTONThere is a pensioner from the 19th Foot, named John Gorman, who is apparently the man to whom the Question of the hon. Member refers. His pension was raised to 10d. a-day in the year 1853. After his discharge from the Army he served in the Force of Enrolled Pensioners. Service in that Force does not carry increase of pension, except in cases of injury received on duty. Gorman has hitherto failed to produce satisfactory evidence of any such injury.