§ LORD BUCKHURSTasked Her Majesty's Government, If there is any truth in the statement that the Admiralty have refused to pay certain bills incurred in his official capacity by the late Captain Burgoyne, of Her Majesty's ship Captain, and have referred the creditors to the widow, Mrs. Burgoyne, for payment? It had been stated in the public Press, with some authority, that the late Captain Burgoyne had in his official capacity, and not on his own private behalf, 262 incurred certain debts for the officers' mess and for the band, amounting, it was alleged, to £400 or £500. One item was £46 for the uniform of the band. He was aware that these expenses usually fell on the officers, and no doubt would have been met by them had they survived their ill-fated ship. He could also see that it might be inconvenient for any Government to make itself responsible for expenses of this kind. What he desired to urge was, that this was an utterly exceptional case; and the peculiar burdens connected with it might be treated exceptionally. He wished to ask Her Majesty's Government whether that could not be done without establishing a precedent for other cases; and whether they could not in that way pay a small tribute of respect to the memory of a gallant officer?
THE EARL OF CAMPERDOWNsaid, it was not true that the Admiralty had referred any of the creditors to the widow of Captain Burgoyne. What had occurred was this:—Since the loss of the Captain bills incurred for the officers' mess, amounting in all to £380, had been sent by the creditors to the Admiralty. The Admiralty refused to pay them, as they hold them to be incurred in respect of matters of a private nature. The bills were almost entirely for extra provisions, wines, and matters of that sort, which officers purchased for their own convenience. There was a bill of £23 for stationery for the private use of the officers; and that the Admiralty considered as a private bill. With regard to the claim of £42 for band instruments and uniforms, no doubt the noble Lord was aware that band instruments were always provided by the officers, not only in the Navy, but also in the Army; and the creditor himself in his letter stated he was aware of that circumstance, but hoped that this would be treated as an exceptional case. But if an exception was made in this case it would be against the positive regulations of the Admiralty, and the officers of every ship would say—"You paid for the band instruments and uniform in that case because the ship was lost; why not pay for them in our case also?" An instance of this kind had never arisen before, and he saw no reason why an exception should be made. The noble Lord had argued that the Admiralty might treat this as an exceptional case; 263 but he must be aware how difficult it was to make exceptions. As soon as a rule was made, a case was sure to arise possessing certain exceptional features, and if an exception was made in that case it would have to be made in another; until at last the rule would be broken through altogether. He was very sensible of the great loss sustained by the families of the officers who were lost in the Captain, and the Admiralty sympathized with them as much as anyone in the country could do. They had considered how they could manage to make some pecuniary compensation to Mrs. Burgoyne, so as to meet demands of this kind, and they found it could be done in this way. Captain Burgoyne was entitled under the regulations to take £350 worth of furniture provided by the Admiralty; but he preferred to take only £140 worth. The Admiralty considered that they might consistently with their duty, with the approval of the Audit Office, pay the difference between those two sums to Mrs. Burgoyne, and accordingly they had paid her £210, in order that that might meet the expenses alluded to by the noble Lord. He could assure their Lordships that the loss which Mrs. Burgoyne had experienced was doubly increased in the eyes of the Admiralty when it was remembered that she was the daughter of that eminent officer Sir Baldwin Walker.