§ DR. MACNAMARAI beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will state who, in addition to himself, are the Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt; which, if any, of the Commissioners are in the habit of taking part in the proceedings of the Commissioners in relation to the Post Office Savings Bank Fund; by whom and on how many occasions has any part been taken in such proceedings during the tenure of office by the present Chancellor of the Exchequer; and were the Commissioners, collectively or separately, consulted as to the policy of suppressing the balance-sheet of the Post Office Savings Bank, and the intended omission of the deficiency from the finance accounts.
§ THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER (Mr. AUSTEN CHAMBERLAIN, Worcestershire, E.)The Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt are: The Speaker of the House of Commons, the Lord Chief Justice of England, the Master of the Rolls, the Paymaster-General, the Governor and Deputy-Governor of the Bank of England, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. As far as I am aware, the Commissioners have not been summoned to meet since the establishment in 1861 of the Post Office Savings Bank. The business of the office is conducted by the Controller-General, with whom I am in frequent communication.