The Sun.
London, England, 1869-12-25 00:00:00

PENSIONS.

At the date of the last annual report the name of but ono
revolutionary soldier, Daniel F. Rakeman, remqined on the
pension rolls. He has since died. Of the pensioned widows
of soldiers in the Revolutionary War there survive—One
of those married prior to 1783, M of those married between
1783 and 1791, 38 of those married betweAn 1791 and 1800,
and 795 of those married since 1800-488 in all, and only
one less than ihe preceding year. There are on the rolls
the names of 1,298 widows and children of soldiers who
served in the wars subsequent to the Revolution and prior
to that of 1861, a decrease of five since the last annual re-
port. The number of invalid pensioners who served in
said wars is 2,350:

New applications for invalid pensions of
soldiers
Aggregate annual rate . .... $463,114 40
Applications for increased pensions
Aggregate annual rate
Pensions to widows, orphans, &c., allowed 15,695
Aggregate annual rate 51,577,281 53
Applications by widows, &c., for increased
PtY
Total annual rate .

11,986
$784,549_70

Invalid milit wy pensioners, Juno 30, 1869 81,579
Yearly pensions to same .
Widows, &e.; receiving pensions, June 30,
180 a

103,546

Yearly pensions to samo 513,567,679 19
Whole number of army pensioners
Annual rate army pension

Amount paid to In-Valid militarypensioners $9,383,714 43
Amount paid to widows, Lir,c 5t8,609,153 56
Total amount paid for military pensions,
applications for expenses, do 527,992,868 04
Navy invalid pensioners admitted 172
Annual rata

Applications for invalid navy pensions ad-

witted

Aggregate annual rate
Applications of widows, &c., admitted
Aggregate annual rate
Pensions of widows, &c., increased
Annual rate of increase

$2,606 50

- . 209
$27,510 00

- .
101
$1,728 00
1,280
$118,171 10

Navy pensioners, June 30, 1869
Annually paid to these
. .

Widows, (Sic.. receiving pensions
Annually paid to these
Amount paid to navy invalids
Amount paid to widows, &c., of seamen

1,558
$256,330 00
$125,640 51
$304,375 53
$430,0.6 04

Total navy pensions
Increase of pensions of all classes during

year . .

23,196

Dropped from rolls
On rolls Juno 30, 1869 187,963
Amount paid for pensions of all classes__ $78,422,88 i 00
Increase over last year 54,411,902 09
Bounty laud warrants issued 1,650
Number of acres 260,040

Amount required during next year, ex-
clusive of amount chargeable to navy
pension fund
Investigations made during the past summer have
proven the commission of very numerous frauds in pro-
curing false testimony, by means of which certificates
have been wrongfully obtained. Diligent effort is being
made to bring the offenders to justice, bid the mode of ap
pointing and paying pension agents and medical ex-
aminers should be changed, with a view increasing
their efficiency as aids to the office in protecting the Go-
vernment against fraudulent claims. The pension agents
are now entitled to a percentage upon the amount of
money disbursed by them. In my judgment this is the
exact opposite of the true rule in such cases. The Go-
vernment may be benefited by paying collecting officers a
percentage on their collections, since their vigilance is
stimulated in that way ; but to increase the officer's com-
pensation in the ratio of the amount disbursed, is to make
it his interest to be blind to frauds which tend to increase
the payments to be made by him, and his own consequent
profit. I would recommend, therefore, that the salaries
of the several pension agents be fixed at the amount
actually paid them during the past fiscal year, and that
the sliding scale, dependent upon disbursements,i be
abolished.

Under the present laws examining surgeons are ap-
pointed from the medical men resident in the various
districts of the country. They examine the applicants
for pension in their own neighbourhood, such applicants
paying the fee therefor, which is repaid to the applicant
if the pension is finally granted. Under this rule the
feelings of good neighbourhood, the disposition to favour
a friend, and the desire to extend his own practice by in-
creasing his popularity, all tempt the examiner to be
lax, and there is conclusive evidence that such laxity has
greatly and improperly increased the pensiov-roll, and
the consequent burdens of taxation 1 therefore recom-
mend that a sufficent number of medical officers be per-
manently attached to the Pension Office, to make the re-
quired examinations of invalid pensioners as well as of
applicants for invalid pensions, or an increase of rate,
and that the fees now paid for such examinations be turned
into a fund for paying proper salaries to such medical ex-
aminers.