§ MR. FIRTHasked the President of the Board of Trade, Whether any steps have been taken to prevent Civil Servants of the Crown from engaging in the management of trading establishments whilst on full pay; whether it is true that all the managing officers and committee of one of the largest Supply Associations belong (with two exceptions) to this class; and, whether it is 1655 proposed to issue a Treasury Minute or take other action in the matter, in order to secure for the public the complete service for which remuneration is given?
§ MR. MACDONALDasked, Whether there was not an understanding last year that nothing should be done until the Committee appointed to consider the matter had made its Report?
§ MR. CHAMBERLAINSir, I was going to refer the hon. Member for Chelsea (Mr. Firth) to an answer which I gave last Session to a somewhat similar Question then put to me by the hon. Member for Oldham(Mr. Lyulph Stanley). I need only say now, with regard to the second Question, that I do not know whether it is true that all the managing officers and committee of one of the largest Supply Associations belong, with two exceptions, to the class of civil servants of the Crown. With reference to the general matter, the Government have carefully considered the representations made to them both on the part of the traders and on the part of the persons interested in the co-operative movement, and have come to the conclusion that they will not offer any opposition to the re-appointment of a Committee, if the hon. and gallant Baronet the Member for Westminster (Sir Charles Russell) desires to move for it, and that they will not take any general action on the subject until the Committee has reported; but, in the meantime, the Chiefs of the Departments will, no doubt, continue to exercise their discretion in any case in which they think that the outside duties of their officials conflict with the public interest.