§ MR. LANE (Cork County, E.)asked the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, is there no information in the Colonial Office of Chief Justice Onslow's having applied for and obtained leave of absence from the Colony of Western Australia; has the Colonial Office made any inquiry into the very grave imputations made (upon affidavits) by leading Colonists in Western Australia against the official conduct of Mr. Leake while adjudicating on the Bench, since those affidavits were lodged with the Secretary of State last year; and, whether, under the circumstances, the Secretary of State 1149 will intimate to Governor Broome that Mr. Leake should not be appointed to a judicial position in that Colony until those charges and allegations be proved to be unfounded?
§ THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES (Baron H. DE WORMS,) Liverpool, ToxtethChief Justice Onslow is reported to have applied for leave of absence, but it is not known whether he has obtained it. As I stated yesterday, the allegations alluded to by the hon. Member have been referred to the Governor, who has not yet reported upon them. Without admitting that the imputations if substantiated are of such gravity as to disqualify Mr. Leake from holding a judicial appointment, it must be manifest that the Secretary of State cannot give such instructions as the hon. Member suggests until he has heard both sides.