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To be in force from and after 30 Jun 1830. Art. 1.- Widows of Commission and Warrant Officers of the Royal Navy may be allowed Pensions as hereinafter directed, and subject to the following restrictions, provided they shall appear to the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty to be proper and deserving Objects of the Public Bounty, and not left in wealthy circumstances. Art. 2.- The rates of pension shall be as follows, viz. :-
The widows of Boatswains, Gunners and Carpenters, of the Royal Navy, and Warranted Masters of Naval Vessels, appointed prior to 30 June 1830, will, if otherwise qualified, be entitled to Pensions of �25 ; but no widow of any of the above named warrant officers who shall have been warranted after that date shall have any claim whatever to a pension. Art. 3.- The Pensions of all widows shall commence from the first day of the month following that in which their husbands died, provided application be made by the widow within 12 months from the same, otherwise from the time of such application ; and all applications for pensions must be addressed to the Secretary of the Admiralty. Art. 4.- The widows of officers (except Chaplains) who marry after 31 Dec 1830, will only be entitled to the pensions of their respective classes in the event of their husbands having been on the list of commission or warrant officers ten complete years, except the husband be killed in action, or lose his life in the execution of the service. Art. 5.- No widow shall receive a pension as a Chaplain�s widow, unless her husband shall have been in Priest�s Orders, nor unless his name was on the list at the time of his death, nor unless she shall have been married during, or prior to, her husband�s service in the Navy, and unless her husband shall have served three years in sea-going ships, or four years in Guard Ships, subsequent to their marriage, or shall, in the whole, have served the length of time to entitle him to his half-pay. Art. 6.- No widow shall be entitled to the pension who has not been married 12 months to the officer by whose rights she claims the same, unless the said officer was killed or drowned in the Sea Service ; but the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty may grant the pension in the cases of officers dying before the expiration of the 12 months from the time of their marriage, in such cases as they think proper. Art. 7.- If any officer shall marry after the age of 60 years his widow shall not be entitled to receive the pension ; or, if being capable of service, he should, at his own solicitation, be excused from it, being at the time warned that his widow would thereby forfeit the pension. Art. 8.- The above pension shall not be reserved by any widow who shall have any other pension from the government. Art. 9.- Widows who shall re-marry after the 31 Dec 1830, shall forfeit their pensions. Art. 10.- The pensions of widows who are re-married, or may re-marry before 31 Dec 1830, shall be paid to themselves, and their receipts shall, not withstanding their coverture, be deemed sufficient discharge for the payment of their pensions. Order in Council, Restoration of Pensions to the Widows of Warrant Officers. Having had under our consideration the subject of the grant of pensions to the widows of Warrant Officers, we are humbly of opinion, taking into consideration the fact that warrants are only conferred upon such Seamen as by their superior merit, zeal, and good conduct are deemed in every respect deserving of this advancement, also the very peculiar and responsible position in which they are thereby placed as regards other ranks in the Service, that no step could be more conducive to the interests of Your Majesty's Navy, or better calculated to hold out encouragement for good men to enter it, than the restoration of pensions to the widows of Warrant Officers. These pensions were abolished by an Order in Council of the 1st of November, 1830, on the grounds of retrenchment, and it was not until the year 1853 that the rate of pay to Warrant Officers was increased as a reward for the valuable services of their class, and with the view of assisting them in some degree to make provision for their widows, but we would humbly observe that this increase of pay has only placed them upon a corresponding footing with other classes of the Service (the pay of other classes having been raised since that date), irrespective of the question of any provision for their widows, and it is very doubtful whether the latter object has been thereby attained. We humbly submit that the restoration of pensions to the widows of this most valuable class of Officers would be, not only an act of strict justice but one of sound policy, and indeed almost of necessity, inasmuch as there is great difficulty at present in inducing the best men to accept the appointment, many of them preferring to serve for a pension rather than take a warrant The award of pensions to their widows would be a strong inducement to them not only to accept a warrant but would be also a powerful motive to good conduct lest they should forfeit so great an advantage to their wives and families. We are humbly of opinion that such pensions should not be awarded to the widows of Warrant Officers if the Officers shall have married after the age of fifty years. We therefore most humbly submit that Your Majesty may be graciously pleased by your Order in Council to authorize the grant of pensions of 25/.'a-year to the widows of such Warrant Officers as die on or after the 1st day of January, 1860, subject to the provisions contained in the Naval Regulations for granting pensions to the widows of Officers of Your Majesty's Navy, and provided such Warrant Officers shall not have married after the age of fifty years. The Lords Commissioners of Your Majesty's Treasury have by a letter dated the 14th of January, 1860, signified to us their concurrence in the same. Admiralty Circular No. 408. Pensions to Widows of Warrant Officers. Her Majesty having been graciously pleased, by Her Order in Council of the 23rd January, 1860, to sanction the grant of Pensions to the Widows of Warrant Officers under certain conditions. My Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty hereby make known that Pensions of �25 a year will be awarded to the Widows of Warrant Officers whose husbands may have died on or after the 1st January 1860, or who shall die hereafter, provided such Warrant Officers shall not have married after the age of fifty years, and provided the conditions (with the exception of that relating to age) contained in the Queen's Regulations for granting Pensions to Widows of Officers of the Royal Navy shall have been fulfilled. It is, however, to be distinctly understood that the above Regulation is not in any way to interfere with or supersede former Regulations granting Pensions to Widows of Warrant Officers whose husbands were warranted prior to the 30th June, 1830, or have been killed in action, drowned on duty, or who have suffered violent deaths when in immediate acts of duty, as laid down in the Queen's Regulations (Cap. x., Sec. vii., Art. 2) for the Government of Her Majesty's Naval Service. By Command of their Lordships, Order in Council, Time of Service of a Warrant Officer to Entitle his Widow to a Pension Reduced from 10 Years to One Year. Whereas we have had under our consideration the provisions contained in Your Majesty's Order in Council of the 23rd January last, by which ordinary pensions are allowed to the widows of Warrant Officers of Your Majesty's Navy who have been ten years on the List of Warrant Officers; and whereas we are humbly of opinion, having reference to the advanced age at which warrants are usually granted to Petty Officers, and to the length of servitude necessary to render them eligible for such warrants, that it would tend to the efficiency of Your Majesty's Service if the period of warranted time necessary to entitle the widows of these Officers to pensions were reduced from ten years to one year (acting time included) provided they have been confirmed in their rank. We do most humbly request that Your Majesty will be graciously pleased by your Order in Council to authorize and approve of the same from the date of Your Majesty's aforesaid Order in Council of the 23rd January, 1860. Admiralty Circular No. 439 Pensions to the Widows of Warrant Officers. With reference to the Circular Order, No. 408, dated 24th January, 1860, by which Pensions of �25 a-year are granted, under certain conditions, to the Widows of Warrant Officers ; my Lords are pleased to direct, under the authority of Her Majesty's Order in Council of the 30th June last, that the above Pensions shall be allowed to the Widows of Warrant Officers, provided their husbands shall have been warranted for a period of one year, (acting time included) instead of ten years as directed in the said Circular, and provided they shall have been confirmed in the rank of Warrant Officer. All other conditions set forth in the above-mentioned Circular remain in force, By Command of their Lordships, ^ back to top ^ |