§ SIR JOHN PAKINGTONsaid, he wished to ask the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, Whether Her Majesty's Government have decided to advise the Queen to withhold the Royal Assent from the Bill lately passed by the Legislature of Tasmania for reducing the Salaries of the Colonial Chaplains?
§ MR. CHICHESTER FORTESCUEsaid, that it was with some regret that the Government had advised Her Majesty to withhold Her Assent from the Bill in question. That had been done, not from any desire on the part of the Home Government to interfere with the policy of the Colonial Government upon ordinary domestic questions, but solely on the ground that the Bill in question affected improperly the rights and interests of Chaplains in Tasmania, which the Crown was bound to protect.