§ MR. LEGH (Lancashire, S.W., Newton)I beg to ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he is now prepared to make a statement with reference to his action regarding the nomination of County Magistrates in; Lancashire; and if he will lay upon the Table of the House his Correspondence with the Lord Lieutenant upon the subject, as well as the Memorandum of 1870?
§ THE CHANCELLOR OF THE DUCHY OF LANCASTER (Mr. BRYCE,) Aberdeen, S.Having received many complaints regarding the composition of the County Bench in Lancashire, and the great disparity in the representation of the political parties upon it, and having satisfied myself that the complaints were well-founded, I called the attention of the Lord Lieutenant to this disparity, and to the unfortunate results upon the status of the Bench and the sentiments of the people which it involves. Intimating that I was unwilling to depart from the existing practice, although that practice was of quite recent origin, I suggested to him the propriety of taking some action to diminish the disparity, and laid before him the names of 39 gentlemen as suitable to be recommended by him to me for appointment in case he were satisfied of their personal fitness. The Lord Lieutenant having absolutely declined to entertain the suggestion thus made to him, I have felt myself obliged to revoke, and have revoked, the Memorandum of 1870, by which the right of recommending was entrusted to the Lord Lieutenant, and have decided to revert to the practice in force before that year, under which the Chancellor of the Duchy received recommendations from various quarters, and not from the Lord Lieutenant only. I have informed the Lord Lieutenant of this decision, and of the reasons which have constrained me to take it. There will be no objection to producing the Memorandum of 1870 and the letter then addressed to the Lord Lieutenant, together with the Memorandum I have now signed and the correspondence (so far as it is not confidential) which has recently passed between the Lord Lieutenant and myself upon the subject, if the hon. Member will move for these documents.
§ MR. LEGHIn view of the remarkable action of the right hon. Gentleman, may I ask if there will be any opportunity of discussing it, his salary, unfortunately, not being on the Votes?
§ MR. BRYCEThe hon. Member is as able as I am myself to judge from the forms of the House what opportunity he will have of raising the question. I can only say that, as far as I am personally concerned, no one would be better pleased 200 than I should be that this matter should be discussed.
§ MR. TOMLINSON (Preston)What is the practice of recent origin to which the right hon. Gentleman alludes?
§ MR. BRYCEThe practice of recent origin was for the Lord Lieutenant to be the only person to send recommendations to the Chancellor of the Duchy.
§ MR. MACLURE (Lancashire, S.E., Stretford)Is it not the practice in every other county in England that the recommendation shall be made by the Lord Lieutenant alone?
§ MR. BRYCEIn other counties the Lord Chancellor has the same functions as the Chancellor of the Duchy in Lancashire.
§ MR. BRYCEThe letters which are not confidential are perfectly sufficient to show the whole case. I only qualified my answer for the reason that the names of the gentlemen I mentioned were included, and they were of course given confidentially, and there are two or three letters marked "private" which passed between the Lord Lieutenant and myself. The correspondence which will be produced consists of three official letters, and they fully show the whole matter.
§ MR. A. C. MORTONUnder the Statute, is it not the duty of the Chancellor of the Duchy and not of the Lord Lieutenant to appoint the magistrates?
§ [No answer was given.]
§ MR. MACLUREIf my hon. Friend does not move for the Papers I shall do so immediately after Easter.
§ MR. MACLUREI am sorry to say I am going to Malta on Saturday.