NAVAL PRIZE MONEY. (Hansard, 22 July 1901)

LORD MUSKERRY

My Lords, I rise to call attention to the large amount of naval prize and other moneys remaining unclaimed and undistributed, and to ask the First Lord of the Admiratly whether he is aware that there are a number of sailors, marines, and other persons entitled to naval prize bounty, salvage, and other moneys who have been unable to ascertain what is due to them, or to get their claims paid to them by the Admiralty; whether he can state approximately the total amount due and remaining outstanding and unpaid, commencing from the year 1853 to some recent date; whether he will agree to a continuation Return of the printed Return dated 3rd March, 1863, of naval prize, bounty, salvage, and other moneys received and distributed by the Admiralty to some recent date, with two additional columns showing "amount distributed" and "amount remaining undistributed," and whether he will see that all items like those No. 172, "Acorn and 55 others," and 177, "Assistance and thirty-nine others," in the Return of March, 1863, are corrected in the Return now asked for by the insertion of the full names of all and each of the fifty-five and thirty-nine or other number of ships referred to in those items, in such a way that officers and crews of those ships respectively may be able to ascertain for themselves whether they have a right to participate in such prize money, etc., and whether he will include in such Return such portion of the correspon- 1107 dence as will be useful to those who consider they have claims to the undistributed portion of such naval prize money, bounty, salvage, etc. respectively.

§ THE FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY (The Earl of SELBORNE)

My Lords, there are no cases known of persons being unable to ascertain what is due to them for prize money; each claim is at once investigated on receipt, and the applicant informed of the result. An account is presented annually to Parliament showing the payments made on account of naval prize money, and the balances outstanding at the end of the year. The last account presented was for the period ended 31st March, 1900, and showed a balance of £50,353. The information given in the printed Return of 3rd March, 1863, could be continued if required, with the additional information as to amounts distributed and amounts still outstanding, together with the names of all the ships participating in the awards, but such Return would require considerable labour, and would take some time to prepare. It is not understood what correspondence would be required, nor that any useful purpose could be obtained by publishing any. The Admiralty have recently decided to publish a list giving particulars of all prize money unclaimed within the last forty years, and, as this will enable the officers and crews of the ships therein named to ascertain for themselves whether or not they are entitled to any prize money, it may not, under the circumstances, be considered necessary to ask for the continuation of the Return of 3rd March, 1863.