MR. PAGETasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, Whether Her Majesty's Government are prepared to take any steps to obviate the inconveniences connected with the present system of disallowances of expenses of criminal prosecutions?
MR. ASSHETON CROSS, in reply, said, this matter had been under the consideration of" the late and of the present Government for some time, and his hon. Friend the Secretary of the Treasury would in the course of a few days lay upon the Table a Treasury Minute that would dispose of the subject in a manner satisfactory to the country. The evils now complained of were very serious. With regard to prosecutions at sessions, the expenses, after being taxed by the local officer, were taxed again in London, so that it was not in the power of the local authority to recoup itself for any money which might have been wrongly paid. To remedy this state of things it would be proposed that a sum should be paid on the average of sessional prosecutions. With regard to cases tried at the Assizes, the grievance was still greater, for there was no county officer to tax the costs which were retaxed afterwards in London. Thus though the county bad no control in the matter, it had to pay anything which might have been wrongly allowed. It was intended to 26 remove this injustice to local jurisdictions.