§ MR. ANDERSONasked the Secretary of State for India, For what further period Her Majesty's Government propose to continue to Sir Austen Layard the full salary of Ambassador to the Porte, now that he has been relieved from the duties and expenses of the office; and, should the main object be to exhaust the time necessary to qualify him for a pension, whether the course that is being followed is not repugnant to the spirit of the statute regulating such pensions?
THE MARQUESS OF HARTINGTONSir Austen Henry Layard is entitled, under the regulations of the Diplomatic Service, to an accumulated leave of 120 days, which will expire on the 11th of October. The question of his future position will then come under the consideration of my noble Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. The object in view is not to expend the time necessary to enable Sir Austen Henry Layard to qualify for a pension, which, I believe, would not be attained for some considerable period.