§ SIR CHARLES CAMERON (Glasgow, Bridgeton)I beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty whether his attention has been called to a statement of Mrs. Farquhar, of 83, Dalmarnock Road, Glasgow, to the effect that in May last, after correspondence with the Admiralty as to the steps to be taken to secure the discharge of her husband, John Farquhar, who on 1st May had enlisted in the Marines and was serving on board H.M.S. "Northumberland," she sent £10 to the master-at-arms of that vessel, receipt of which was duly acknowledged, to procure his discharge; whether she has sent to the Admiralty documents in proof of her statement, but that, on the excuse that the £10 has been lost, her husband still remains undischarged; and whether he 1272 will take steps to have the case promptly settled, either by discharging Farquhar or returning the £10, for which his wife, a very poor woman, having had to borrow, it, is responsible.
MR. GOSCHENThe first intimation received at the Admiralty with regard to the matter referred to in the question was by a letter received from Mrs. Farquhar on July 20th. A report as to the circumstances, which was at once called for from H.M.S. "Northumberland," was received yesterday, August 2nd. It appears that the delay, as set out in the question, has been occasioned by the purchase money having been sent in Scotch notes, which were refused by the Accountant Officer of the ship and were subsequently handed to Farquhar, the husband whose discharge his wife was seeking. He states that he himself lost them while vainly endeavouring to get them changed into gold at the local banks. Under the special circumstances, though the necessary money has not been received by the Government, Farquhar's discharge will be sanctioned without any further payment.