§ MR. SHERRIFFasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, Whether his attention has been directed to a Petition presented to this House on Thursday last, from the Mayor and Corporation of Worcester, which alleges that six gentlemen had recently been appointed magistrates for that city, five 1622 of them being of Conservative and one of Liberal opinions; that there was no public necessity for their appointment inasmuch as Worcester had already one stipendiary and sixteen borough magistrates, and that no recommendation to increase the number had been made by the magistrates themselves, the town council, or any other public body, and praying for an inquiry into the circumstances? And, whether he has any objection to lay upon the Table of the House any Correspondence which may have preceded such appointments?
MR. ASSHETON CROSS, in reply, said, that since the Notice of the Question had been given, he had placed himself in communication with the Lord Chancellor, with whom, and not with the Home Office, the matter of the appointments referred to rested. He had the authority, he might add, of that noble and learned Lord to make the following statement:—That it was represented to him, and he believed it to be the case, that out of 16 magistrates for the city of Worcester seven only attended. The remaining nine either had not qualified, or were unable to attend, or did not attend. He therefore appointed six gentlemen, whom, after full inquiry, he believed to be extremely well qualified for the office. Pour of them were, or had been, members of the Corporation, and two had filled the office of mayor. The corporation, and all other public bodies, and, indeed, everyone who wished to do so, were free to recommend to the Lord Chancellor anyone they desired to see appointed; but, of course, he could not undertake to submit names for the approval of any body or person whatever as a condition precedent to their appointment. He might add that, although the Lord Chancellor could not, nor was it necessary that he should, have any accurate knowledge of the political opinions of those appointed, yet he had reason to believe that of the six whom he had appointed four were Conservatives, and that with these six the acting magistrates would now be equally divided as to politics—while if all the magistrates, acting and not acting, were included, there would be a considerable majority of Liberals. There was no official Correspondence either with the Home Office or the Lord Chancellor on the subject, and any Correspondence which might have passed touch- 1623 ing so delicate a question as the character of magistrates must be considered to be confidential.