HC Deb 14 April 1896 vol 39 cc889-90
MR. PATRICK O'BRIEN

I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for War, (1) whether he will lay upon the Table a copy of Her Most Gracious Majesty's Warrant, issued in 1868, commanding that a number of old soldiers, 400 in number, who had served in the Peninsula and Waterloo, and who were then (1868) paupers, should get pensions of 1s. 6d. per day; and, (2) whether the Government will direct Her Majesty's attention to the fact that there are a large number of soldiers who gave Her Majesty faithful service now in the workhouses of Great Britain and Ireland, with the view of commending them to Her Majesty's consideration?

*MR. BRODRICK

The warrant referred to, of which I lay a copy on the Table, was issued in 1874, 59 years after the last campaign included in its action. As I stated yesterday, the number of men engaged in campaigns before 1860 now alive is very large and vastly in excess of the Peninsula veterans included in the warrant of 1874, and to renew it would involve enormous expenditure.

*CAPTAIN DONELAN (Cork, E.)

I would ask the right hon. Gentleman whether the. spectacle of old Irish soldiers ending their days in the Irish workhouses is not likely to have a deterrent effect on recruiting in Ireland?

*MR. SPEAKER

Order, order! That is a matter of opinion.

MR. PATRICK O'BRIEN

The hon. Gentleman has not answered the last paragraph of the Question.

*MR. BRODRICK

The reply to that paragraph is involved in the statement that the number is too large to undertake the course suggested.

MR. PATRICK O'BRIEN

Is not that a question for Her Majesty herself? I have no doubt that Her Majesty in her generosity would accede to it.

*MR. BRODRICK

In these matters Her Majesty acts on the opinion of her confidential advisers.