§ Order for Second Reading read.
SIB GEORGE CAMPBELL,in moving that the Bill be now read a second time, said, that although it might appear to be a small measure in itself, it was one which largely affected the interests of the great mass of the people of India, inasmuch as it might materially modify the whole character of the Judicial Service. The existing Act, which established the High Courts of Justice in that country in 1862, contained a clause providing that the Judges should be chosen from three classes of persons who had qualifications—namely, the Civil Servants of the East India Company, barristers, and persons of other qualifications; but that the Chief Justice must be taken from one class only—namely, barristers. The present Bill sought to amend that clause by 1154 providing that the office of Chief Justice should be open to all the Judges, so that the man who showed himself the best man might be promoted, even if he were not a barrister.