Folios 538-539: Joshua Sydney Horton, Regulating Officer, Liverpool. Acknowledges...

Folios 538-539: Joshua Sydney Horton, Regulating Officer, Liverpool. Acknowledges receipt of the letter from Mr Barrow of 28 April, expressing concern that he regulated Gilbert Howarden (amentia and an idiot) and John Higgins (epilepsy) as substitutes. Points out the great difficulty of detecting such conditions in the standard examination and the responsibility on himself and the Surgeon. No Officer could be more circumspect that he is, requiring each man to be stripped and examined in his presence, Each man offering himself as a substitute answered the usual questions. It can be extremely difficult to detect, but in future he will require the Surgeon to examine the mental faculties of the men. He is afraid that the enclosure [not present] from A J Brown contains a too true representation of the common mode of obtaining substitutes, and he regrets the impossibility of checking, on his part, other than by the precautions he has already introduced, of ensuring that any substitute is paid the full amount due in his presence. He has never delegated this role to his Lieutenants. In those cases where there has been disagreement , and he has explained to the substitutes that they are not entitled to the bounty, he has discharged them, or allowed them to volunteer. The write of the enclosure is a person employed by individuals to make applications to the Board, being a schoolmaster, and Brown is a man who pays advances for substitutes. He will follow orders and not receive men less than 5ft 6ins tall.