Star.
London, England, 1823-02-25 00:00:00

SINVING Mtn.

The CIF A NCf:I.LOR Of the EXCHEQL7r.R gave notice*
that on Monday Den he should suhn)...l to the 1i0:43e a wort,*
upon the Sinking Fred

ERICADEMAJORA OF YEOMANRY.

Mr. HUME had a-motion to submit to the Hence:.
to which he apprehended there would he no objectioi.
It appeared by a Parliamentery Paper lately re-
turned, that certain sums had been aPowed to nri-
gade Majors of Yeomanry. He believed the !louse
had no notion that money was thus raid ; yet it ap-
peared by the Paper that upwards of 2X1,0061. had
been I aid in pensions and salaries to members of Yeee.-
rnanry Corps. These sums were said to he granted-
upon the authority of the 50dt George 111. Now,
in that Act, there was a clause which expressly fasted:
that no allowance should be made under the anthority
of that Act to persons receiving half-pay and mili-
tary allowances. He moved for a Return of the
I names of all persons who had teceived allowances as
Brigade Majors of Yeomanry in Ireland, stating the
length and nature of their services, the names of the
medical officers who signed their certificates, the date
of the certificates, the amount of the allowances, toge-
ther with the authorities under which, and the names
of the persons by whom such allowances were granted.
Mr. GOULBURN said, that with respes: . to the
papers, on his part there would be no obv,tion to
producing them. He had no wish than that of bring
tag the acts of the Irish Government fully before tbe
Public. He only rose to exptess his regret thatorpou
a previous night, and before the documents barlbyerit
produced, the Hon. Member had impugned-thecoms
doct of an Honourable Officer, which, it be had
waited for those documents, he could not it:v.l'llone.
He was desirous of taking this opportunitY to -deny
as publicly as the Hon. Member had prefer-led them,
the charges against that Honourable Oillcer. The
individnal in question was Major Edward Collis.; and
the Hon. Member stated, that a i.eieion had been
granted to him which he was not entitled to receive.
for three particular seasons. The first was, that he
was not above forty years of 'age: the •econd, that
he had been a very little time in the service ; and the
third, that he was in as good bodily heath as the
Hon. Member himself. Now to proceed is order
with these reasons. With regard to his age; he
joined his regiment in America, in the rear 11'76,
and in the 3-ear following he received a severe
wound; so that the Honourable Member, with his
Meat skill in figures, would be able to see that
ajor Collis was considerably above the age he had
stated at the time whed he received his allowance.
For the very little time he had been in the service,
they found forty-five years of service to his Majesty,
and thirteen years as Brigade Major of Yeomanry.
But the Hon. Member said that this pension had been
granted to a person possessing all the bodily health
and vigour which they daily and nightly witnessed
in the Hon. Gentleman himself in that House. -Now
it happened that for some years past the Government
had been in the habit of examining into the claims
for allowances, before they were granted, and the
following was the result of an inquiry into this parti-
cular case:—" Report of the Physician.—l hereby
certify that I have strictly examined Major Collis IS
to the state of his health, and I find him perfectly ia-
equate to the discharge of his duties in this County
and in the County of Galway, without imminent risk
of his liter_ He is. sixty years of age; and of a deli-
cate constitution subject to gouty attacks and to liver
complaints, in consequence of cold taken in the ser-
vice, and also paralytic affections"—(llear, hear).
He would put it to the House, whether these afflic- .
lions deserved the allowance or not, and. whether the
reeompence for such services and sufferings was to.
be described as a job ? But the Hon. Member said,
that the Act did not give the power of making such
allowances. It so happened that these fit igade-Ma-
jo' rs had always been considered as Civil Officers.
They were excluded from the receipt of half-pav, and
..
,had no other Military allowance when thos,.com-
pelled toretire. This had been considered as Olegal
ground for giving them an allowance under the Act.
He had no objection to the production of the papers.
• Mr. HUME explained, that this was not the case
to which he alluded—(hear, hear).—He averred that
this was the fact. He spoke of two instances where
the allowance had been made; one was Edward
Collis, whom he stated to have been hut ten years in -
the service ; the other was Mr. Bridgemao, to whom
ihe applied the remainder of his observations. He
law the mistake in the Newspapers the next morning,
and wrote to the Editors to correct it. He mai still
at a loss to know by what authority the pensions bad
been granted. The Act said, that half-pay and mili-
tary allowances were to be excluded. He did not see
how it could be made out, that a Major of BrigaLler
was not a military man. - They:o4as well attempt
to prove that he was a woman. It may: be hid*
law, but he was convinced that the Act did not autho•
rise the allowances. 1
Mr. GOULBURN said, that it was, due to Nfajpl
Bridgeman, as well as to- Majo,Coilis, to Correct-did
Hon. Gentleman's statements respecting •him. -!'bed
explanation, in either way, was inaccurate-wird inap•
plicable. Now, Mr. Bridgeman, uho was represented
by the lion. Gentleman, to e:)..i.)y as good a canatta•
tion as himself, and to be about his o.‘ll ag-what.
joined the British service in -South Carolina' we' :filr:
back as the year 1780; and had, in the latter 10414,i
his time, served ten years as a IlrigaderA.l.tjer k:Shati.
Irish Yeomanry ; but, even after this lengthof sereiseui
there Was the most positive certifieatiem of infirmities,:
'from the'higli'apthority of Dr, ItteMie,.'Of'Plibliti..4. '
'Alit Bri4einAhad Taller) fiora his h0r,1e:14,414
apoplexy, while in.thc discliargeoihistisditiir,A4
hrhadfor esittrojettrs suffixed froai.siionotit ' '

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