§ MR. DICKINSON,in rising to call attention to the Return showing the Grant of a Pension to the late Accountant General of the Court of Chancery, and the absence of any special circumstances justifying the Grant, and to move—
That the Lord Chancellor and the Lords of the Treasury re-consider the question and state distinctly what are the special circumstances which, in their opinion, justify a departure from the rules laid down in the Act 22 Vic. c. 26, s. 7.said, the Accountant General was paid a salary of £2,500 a-year. In 1850 a Select Committee recommended that the salary of the Accountant General should be £2,000 a-year, fixing that amount as sufficiently high, and the Committee of 1864 endorsed the recommendation. He had the power of appointing the broker in Chancery, and 264 the arrangement which he made with the broker was that he (the Accountant General) should receive half the amount of his brokerage—so that he took that in addition to his salary. In his (Mr. Dickinson's) opinion, his salary and the brokerage brought his income up to £4,200 a-year which he had been in receipt of ever since 1839 to the present year. Thus he had been receiving £4,200 a-year for 30 years. With regard to pension he thought there was no pretence for going beyond two-thirds of the salary in this instance, and he, therefore, asked the House to adopt such a course as would have the effect of checking such an appropriation of the public money.
THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUERsaid, the hon. Member had in the course of last Session made a Motion, in which he brought the Accountant General's salary under consideration, and succeeded in introducing a clause in the Bill providing that the Accountant General's pension should be two-thirds of his salary. That provision, in accordance with what was understood to be the feeling of the whole House, including the hon. Gentleman himself, was afterwards changed, the Bill having been recommitted for the purpose. It was settled by the Lord Chancellor and himself, under the powers vested in them, that he should have his full salary under the Act, and it became as irrevocable as the Act itself. For those reasons he held that it was impossible that any further change could now be made in the matter.
§ Motion, by leave, withdrawn.