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and its responsibilities and social obligations upon another, has been to leave a debt of some 2,000 hanging like a millstone around my neck on the day of my retirement after a period of nearly half a century spent in the East (without once quitting it) in the service of my Sovereign.
A
My position of thraldom under that debt is briefly this—I can only leave the colony by assigning my creditors one moiety of my coming pension, reserving the other to support a policy of insurance on my life for their security at a rate of premium gauged upon my sixtieth year (fifty-five of them passed in the tropics), and maintain myself and family, and to launch into the world my last unprovided son now completing his education in France. That this is a bad position, Sir, for any man who has held the high trust in life which I have held will be readily admitted. It only becomes endurable at all under the reflection that it has not been brought about through any conduct upon my own part that can attaint my personal honour.
Having thus explained my involvements and their origin, it now only remains for me to throw myself upon the consideration of Her Majesty's Government entreating their recommendation of my case to the Lords of the Treasury, as a special, exceptional, and extraordinary one, towards my Lords granting me such a sum of money, over and above whatever pension may be allotted to me, as may help to rescue me from my present tyrannical dilemma, founding the grant as a special reimbursement of extraordinary charges incurred by me whilst Lieutenant-Governor here upon an inadequate salary.
Whilst soliciting this assistance at their Lordships' hands as a pure boon, I would respectfully submit that should my Lords be pleased to accede to my prayer any grant that may be graciously made to me, will not by any means be a pure loss to the National Exchequer.
In setting forth my services during a long and active military career, and showing that having been fortunate enough to have earned the approbation of all my commanding officers from first to last, I had a well-grounded hope for consideration as an old soldier. In that connection, I beg to refer to the promise of the late Lord Hardinge (as is on record at the Horse Guards, whilst my third son was under—and again going through his education at Sandhurst for the after passing) for a commission, without purchase, which, owing to his Lordship's lamented death, I was compelled to purchase, in the 27th Inniskillings Regiment. Here was a clear gain to the Exchequer arising out of a merely lapsed promise, but again, manifestly, in the face of my pure moral right. I do not represent this to complain of it. The Horse Guards is, of course, justified in proceeding upon its own regulations. I merely exhibit the instance to show that the public Exchequer has in this case been benefited by £450 of my funds, to which it had at least no moral claim. Again, when permitted to sell out of the army, though nominally gazetted as Major of the 39th Regiment, I only received the price of my Captain's commission, thus suffering a loss of £1,400, which afterwards accrued as a pure gain to the Exchequer in the sale of that reserved majority. It is a regulation of the Horse Guards, that an officer can only sell the actual regimental rank he has attained, a very proper regulation. But I was debarred that actual step in rank through the exigencies of the Civil Service in this colony, in the face of my own earnest remonstrance, which will sufficiently appear from the letter of the Secretary to Her Majesty's Superintendent of Trade, dated 22nd May, 1841. I was absolutely prevented from joining my regiment in the operations against Canton in May, 1841; consequently, I lost military promotion and my chance of the Companionship of the Bath, both having been attained by several of my juniors, and I lost £1,400 finally by having only a company to sell instead of a majority, and all because it was held necessary at the time to have a military man at the head of the magistracy of this young colony where the first settlers, with valuable property in heaps about them, were living under mat sheds upon these hill sides, exposed to the nightly descent of armed gangs of desperadoes from the opposite main. Is it too much to hope, Sir, that if I have thus suffered not only pecuniary loss, but what I value infinitely more, high military distinction, through the exigencies of the Civil Service, I shall not rely in vain on the justice of that great Department for at least a mitigation of the consequences.
Those two sums which accrued to the Exchequer from Lord Hardinge's lapsed promise and the regimental step, reserving a majority to the Horse Guards, would now be a fortune to me, in emancipating me from the cruel thraldom of debt, and enabling me to spend the few remaining years of life, which Providence may allot me, in peace, at least, though not in worldly competence.
My colonial career being now brought to a close, I trust, Sir, that it will not be held out of place upon my part to bring its more prominent incidents under your immediate notice. Again, I find myself placed in the invidious position of speaking of myself; but again, I say, how am I to avoid it, in justice to my unprovided family, and, alas! I
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and its responsibilities and social obligations upon another, has been to leave a debt of some 2,000 hanging like a mill- stone around my neck on the day of my retirement after a period of nearly half a century spent in the East (without once quitting it) in the service of my Sovereign.
A
My position of thraldom under that debt is briefly this—I can only leave the colony by assigning my creditors one moiety of my coming pension, reserving the other to support policy of insurance on my life for their security at a rate of premium guaged upon my sixtieth year (fifty-five of them passed in the tropics), and maintain myself and family, and to launch into the world my last unprovided son now com. pleting his education in France. That this is a bad position, Sir, for any man who has held the high trust in life which I have held will be readily admitted. It only becomes endur- able at all under the reflection that it has not been brought about through any conduct upon my own part that can attaint my personal honour.
Having thus explained my involvements and their origin, it now only remains for me to throw myself upon the con- sideration of Her Majesty's Government entreating their recommendation of my case to the Lords of the Treasury, as a special, exceptional, and extraordinary one, towards my Lords granting me such a sum of money, over and above whatever pension may be allotted to me, as may help to rescue me from my present tyrannical dilemma, founding the grant as a special reimbursement of extraordinary charges incurred by ine whilst Lieutenant-Governor here upon an inadequate salary.
Whilst soliciting this assistance at their Lordships' hands as a pure boon, I would respectfully submit that should my Lords be pleased to accede to my prayer any grant that may be graciously made to me, will not by any means be a pure loss to the National Exchequer.
In setting forth my services during a long and active military career, and shewing that having been fortunate enough to have earned the approbation of all my command- ing officers from first to last, I had a well-grounded hope for consideration as an old soldier. In that connection I beg to refer to the promise of the late Lord Hardinge (as is on record at the Horse Guards, whilst my third son was under- and again going his education at Sandhurst for the after passing) for a commission, without purchase, which, owing to his Lordship's lamented death, I was compelled to purchase, in the 27th Inniskillings Regiment. Here was a clear gain to the Exchequer arising out of a merely lapsed promise, but again, manifestly, in the face of my pure moral
army,
45
right. I do not represent this to complain of it. The Horse Guards is, of course, justified in proceeding upon its own regulations. I merely exhibit the instance to show that the public Exchequer las in this case been benefited by 450% of my funds, to which it had at least no moral claim. Again, when permitted to sell out of the army, though nominally gazetted as Major of the 39th Regiment, I only received the price of my Captain's commission, thus suffering a loss of 1,400, which afterwards accrued as a pure gain to the Exchequer in the sale of that reserved majority. It is a regulation of the Horse Guards, that an officer can only sell the actual regimental rank he has attained, a very proper regulation. But I was debarred that actual step in rank through the exigencies of the Civil Service in this colony, in the face of my own earnest remonstrance, which will sufficiently appear from the letter of the Secretary to Her Majesty's Superintendent of Trade, dated 22nd May, 1841. I was absolutely prevented from joining my regiment in the opera- tions against Canton in May, 1841; consequently, I lost military promotion and my chance of the Companionship of the Bath, both having been attained by several of my juniors, and I lost 1,4007. finally by having only a company to sell instead of a majority, and all because it was held necessary at the time to have a military man at the head of the magistracy of this young colony where the first settlers, with valuable property in heaps about them, were living under mat sheds upon these hill sides, exposed to the nightly descent of armed gangs of desperadoes from the opposite main. Is it too much to hope, Sir, that if I have thus suffered not only pecuniary loss, but what I value infinitely more, high military distinction, through the exigencies of the Civil Service, I shall not rely in vain on the justice of that great Department for at least a mitigation of the con-
sequences.
Those two suns which accrued to the Exchequer from Lord Hardinge's lapsed promise and the regimental step, reserving a majority to the Horse Guards, would now be a fortune to me, in emancipating me from the cruel thraldoin of debt, and enabling me to spend the few remaining years of life, which Providence may allot me, in peace, at least, though not in worldly competence.
My colonial career being now brought to a close, I trust, Sir, that it will not be held out of place upon my part to bring its more prominent incidents under your immediate notice. Again, I find myself placed in the invidious position position of speaking of myself; but again, I say, how am I to avoid it, in justice to my unprovided family, and, alas! I
62
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