§ MR. T. P. O'CONNORasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, If the full amount of pension to which Professor D'Arcy Thompson would be entitled, if appointed Librarian, would be seventy-five pounds per annum; if, since the date of his appointment as Acting Librarian in 1876, the Irish Government have made twenty-nine appointments in the three Queen's Colleges, all entitled to full pensions, namely: two Presidencies; three Librarianships; one Registrar-ship; and twenty-three Professorships; and, whether, under these circumstances, the Government will persist in refusing Professor D'Arcy Thompson's reasonable claim after twenty-one years' service in the service of the Crown in Ireland?
§ MR. CAMPBELL-BANNERMAN£75 is the salary of the office of Librarian in the Queen's College, Galway, and Professor Thompson receives that sum as Acting Librarian. The amount of his pension will depend upon the length of his service when he comes to retire. It is true that several appointments to which pensions are attached have been made in the Queen's Colleges since 1876, but that is not the point. The question is whether the Government should now create this new vested interest in connection with the Queen's Colleges; and, having regard to all the circumstances, they have no hesitation in coming to a conclusion in the negative.
§ MR. T. P. O'CONNORI beg to ask the right hon. Gentleman what is the maximum Professor D'Arcy Thompson would be entitled to?
§ MR. CAMPBELL-BANNERMANI cannot say.
§ MR. T. P. O'CONNORI beg to give Notice that, in consequence of the unsatisfactory answers of the right hon. Gentleman, I will call attention to the matter on another occasion.