§ MR. MACNEILL (Donegall S.)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies whether his attention has been called to the case of Mr. C. J. M'Leod, who was appointed Provost Marshal and Inspector of Prisons in the Colony of St. Vincent in 1882, at a salary of £250 per annum, and upon whom, in the last three years, the additional 50 offices of Registrar of the Supreme Court of Judicature, Registrar of Deeds, Registrar of the Court of Appeal for the Windward Islands, Secretary to the Incumbered Estates Court, and Registrar, Taxing Master, and Receiver in Bankruptcy, have been imposed without an increase of salary; whether there is any precedent, either in the Imperial or Colonial Service, for imposing seven more offices upon an officer without any addition to his salary; whether the Secretary of State will consider the question of either granting to Mr. M'Leod an increase of salary, or relieving him from performing the onerous and responsible duties of the said offices to which he has been appointed and for which he receives no additional remuneration; and, whether each Governor, under whom he has served, has placed on record his approbation of the manner in which he discharged his duties?
§ THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES (Baron H. de WORMS,) Liverpool, East ToxtethMr. M'Leod was appointed in 1882 Provost Marshal in the Colony of St. Vincent, the duties of which office included the inspectorship of the prison, with a salary of £250 per annum. By a colonial law, passed in 1886, the office of Provost Marshal and the office of Colonial Registrar, which embraced the duties of Registrar of the Supreme Court, Registrar of Deeds, Registrar of the Court of Appeal, and Secretary to the Incumbered Estates Court, were abolished, and a new office of Registrar was created to which the duties of both the abolished offices were attached with a salary of £250 per annum. This new office was offered to, and accepted by, Mr. M'Leod. By a subsequent Ordinance the duties of Registrar, Taxing Master, and Receiver in Bankruptcy have been assigned to the Registrar without increase of salary. There are precedents in the Colonial Service for imposing additional duties on public officers without additional salary. As the duties of the combined offices held by Mr. M'Leod can be easily discharged by one officer, and the salary is not considered to be inadequate, having regard to the financial position of the Colony, the Secretary of State does not propose to recommend that his salary should be increased, or that he should be relieved from any of those duties 51 The Governors under whom Mr. M'Leod has served have spoken favourably of him.