§ Sir JOHN JACKSONasked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether, in the case of an officer recently discharged with disgrace from His Majesty's Navy for embezzlement of public money and in debt to his mess on discharge, the Admiralty decided that his mess debt could not be defrayed out of the sum to his credit on discharge and forfeited to the Crown, as that sum had to be set off against the amount he had embezzled; whether in this case the officer was appointed to the ship to await court-martial, and therefore by the King's Regulations was obliged to join the mess and to pay 2s. a day messing subscription; and whether, in cases of embezzlement of mess money and the offender is dismissed with disgrace, it is the Admiralty rule to grant to the mess any pay due on discharge as a set-off against the amount embezzled?
§ Dr. MACNAMARAThe facts are generally as stated. The Admiralty are advised that they have no power to appropriate any of the balance of pay, which is forfeited in such cases under Section 53 of the Naval Discipline Act, to meet mess liabilities.