HC Deb 27 March 1900 vol 81 cc440-1
MR. SWIFT MACNEILL

I beg to ask Mr. Attorney General whether the duties appertaining to the office of Judge Advocate General, whose holder has hitherto been a Minister of the Crown, are now discharged by a member of the High Court of Justice who gets no salary for the discharge of those duties, and is removed from the scope of Parliamentary criticism except in peculiar circumstances directly appertaining to the discharge of his judicial functions; and whether there is any, and, if so, what method whereby the exercise of the functions of the office of Judge Advocate General and the disposal of the patronage attaching to that office can be submitted to the consideration of the House of Commons.

THE ATTORNEY GENERAL (Sir RICHARD WEBSTER,) Isle of Wight

In my opinion the first paragraph of the hon. and learned Member's question does not give a correct description of the conditions under which the duties of the office of Judge Advocate General are now being discharged. The resources of civilisation at the disposal of the hon. and learned Member will, I think, suggest to him a method of bringing the circumstances of any case to which he desires to direct attention before the House of Commons.

MR. SWIFT MACNEILL

But Sir Francis Jeune being a member of the High Court of Justice, how can we impugn his action?

SIR RICHARD WEBSTER

There are many methods by which the hon. Member can draw attention to particular cases if he is not satisfied with the decision arrived at.