§ MR. ASCROFTI beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury whether his attention has been called to the statement contained in the Report of the Select Committee appointed to inquire into the administration of South Kensington Museum, that they very much resented the dismissal of Mr. Weale, an official, called before them, as a breach of privilege and an infringement of the immunity usually enjoyed by witnesses before Committees of this House; and whether the Government intend to reinstate Mr. Weale, or make inquiries with a view to give him compensation for such dismissal?
§ THE FIRST LORD OF THE TREASURYThe Report of the Committee has not yet been circulated, and we therefore have had no opportunity of considering it. It is not, however, the fact that Mr. Weale was dismissed. He retired under the age rule at the expiration of the period for which the Treasury, at the request of the Committee of Council, permitted his service to be prolonged.