§ MR. SWIFT MACNEILLI beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury whether there is any, and, if so, what precedent within the last thirty years for the retention of the position of the Junior Lord of the Treasury by a gentleman who is not a Member of Parliament.
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURThere is a precedent—I do not, think there is a precedent in the last thirty years—of a Minister of the Crown not being in the House of Commons. I think I gave the precedent the other day which referred to a more important office than that of Junior Lord of the Treasury. But I rather doubt whether Mr. Loder is, as a matter of fact, a Junior Lord of the Treasury at this moment. I think he is not. [Laughter.] I observe that that remark excites merriment, and perhaps the House would like to know exactly why I make it. Under the statute of Anne, a Member of this House vacates his seat on accepting office. That is to say, he need not be installed in the office; he need not have the privileges or the duties of office, but he vacates his seat as soon as he formally announces his intention to accept it. Mr. Gerald Loder did make that statement, he did therefore vacate his seat, but he has never been made Junior Lord of the Treasury.
§ MR. WHITLEY (Halifax)Will the right hon. Gentleman say when he will be able to discover whether Mr. Loder is or is not an official drawing a salary?
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURNo, he is not drawing a salary. He could not draw a 1411 salary nor could he legally undertake the duties of the office until the Treasury patent was drawn out.
§ MR. WHITLEYWill the right hon. Gentleman say whether the office is now vacant or not?
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURYes.