334 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1817. 



reckon as three years in any other 

 part of the world. 



And subsequently, all soldiers 

 present at the battle of Waterloo 

 have been allowed, by direction of 

 his Royal Highness the Prince 

 Regent, 31st July, 1815, to add 

 two years to their term of seiTice, 

 in estimating the amount of pen- 

 sion which they claim. 



There is also a regulation, by 

 which soldiers discharged during 

 their second or third period of 

 service, are to be allowed, upon 

 registering their names in a book 

 to be kept at Chelsea, to reckon 

 every two years whicli may elapse 

 after such dischaige as equiva- 

 lent to one of service ; and to re- 

 ceive the pension belonging to the 

 second or third period of service 

 at the expiration of the number 

 of years which are requisite to 

 complete such peiiods of service 

 respectively ; such discharged sol- 

 diers being liable to be called upon 

 to attend musters, and in time of 

 war to be eiiroUed, if found lit for 

 service; in the veteran battalions. 

 Each year from the peiiod of the 

 first discharge till that of being 

 called again into service is termed 

 a year of absence. 



Tliis T-egulation appears to have 

 been so little luiderstood by the 

 soldiers, that up to the 9th of 

 December last only 277 men had 

 tendered their names, with tiie 

 view of obtaining pensions luider 

 that regulation ; and none had 

 proposed to take advantage of it 

 until the regulation \^as comnui- 

 nicHted to commanding officers, 

 who were directed to promulgate 

 it in their rcs|)ective regiments. 



The only other important alte- 

 ratioja which was introduced by 

 the Eew system of 1 b06, in re- 



spect of pension, was a consider- 

 able increase given by the same 

 regxdations in consequence of dis- 

 ability or infirmity contracted in 

 service ; as to which the Commis- 

 sioners of Chelsea-hospital, in fix- 

 ing the amount of pensions, exer- 

 cise their discretion, within Cer- 

 tain prescribed limits, according 

 to the nature of the case. But as 

 to the pension for service, no 

 discretion is vested in them ; it 

 having been the intention of the 

 act, and tlie regulations founded 

 upon it, to confer upon the soldier 

 a legal claim to a pension accord- 

 ing to a fixed rate, and of which 

 he cannot be deprived, except by 

 the sentence of a general court 

 martial. 



The amount of the out-pensioa 

 at Chelsea-hospital in 1806, six 

 months previous to the new regu- 

 lations being adopted, was, upon 

 21,177 men, 179,902/. 8s. 4d. 

 per annum : six months subse- 

 quent to the regulations, on 

 20 80,5 men, the amotuit was 

 347,ti()2/. 10s. 



In 1793, previous to the war, 

 the Chelsea out-pension was, upon 

 20,59-1 men, l.=>7,759/. 15s. and 

 the annual amount of it at Mi- 

 chaelmas ISK) was, upon 51,591 

 men,* 884,639/. 10s. 8d. The 

 pension at Kilmainham in 1793 

 was, upon 2,550 men, 16,lfiO/. ; 

 it was at Michaelmas 1816, upon 

 10,031 men. 159,s70Z. making, 

 with 884,659/. 10s. Hd. the a- 

 mount of the Chelsea pension, 

 1,044,529/. 



* Upon the disbandnieiU after the seven 

 years war, in 17C3, the number of Cliplsca 

 pensioners was 14,700, and the amount of 

 their pensions 11 i:,800/. peraiiiiura. Alter 

 the American war, the numbers were 

 20,700, and the amount of peneion about 

 lOO.OOOi 



