§ MR. WHITLEY (Halifax)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury what were the total fees paid to Mr. Attorney-General in respect of the Venezuelan Claims Arbitration and the British Guiana Arbitration, and to Mr. Solicitor-General in the cases Rex v. Osborn and others and Rex v. Hooley and Lawson; on whose advice were proceedings instituted in the two last-named cases, and where do the amounts for these and other Law Officers' fees appear on the Estimates.
§ THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY (Mr. VICTOR CAVENDISH, Derbyshire, W.)The total fees paid to the Attorney-General in the Venezuelan and British Guiana Arbitrations respectively were:—
| £ | s. | d. | ||
| Venezuela, 1904–5 | 1,736 | 4 | 6 | |
| British Guiana | 1903–4 | 2,124 | 0 | 0 |
| 1904–5 | 714 | 12 | 0 | |
| 2,838 | 12 | 0 |
§ The total fees paid to the Solicitor-General in Rex v. Osborn and others and Rex v. Hooley and Lawson, respectively, were:—
| £ | s. | d. | |
| Rex v. Osborn and others | 596 | 18 | 6 |
| Rex v. Hooley and Lawson | 1,033 | 19 | 3 |
| Rex v. Lawson (Court for Crown Cases Reserved) | 53 | 9 | 0 |
| 1,087 | 8 | 3 |
§ These proceedings were instituted by the directions of the Attorney-General. The fees in the Venezuelan Arbitration were paid from the Foreign Office Vote for 756 1904–5, and the fees in the British Guiana Arbitration were paid from the Foreign Office Votes for 1903–4 and 1904–5. The fees paid to the Solicitor-General in Rex v. Osborn and others and Rex v. Hooley and Lawson were paid from the Vote for Law Charges, England. All fees paid to the Law Officers are shown in the Statement appended to the Appropriation Account for Law Charges.
§ MR. WHITLEYDo I understand that the Law Officers advise proceedings in the cases in which they subsequently draw fees?
§ [No Answer was returned.]
§ MR. WHITLEYThen I take it the Answer is in the affirmative.
§ MR. CHARLES DEVLIN (Galway)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury if he will state the total amounts of salary, fees, refreshers, and every other consideration paid out of the Treasury to Mr. Attorney-General and Mr. Solicitor-General during the two years ending May 15th, 1905.
§ MR. VICTOR CAVENDISHThe information desired by the hon. Member will be found up to March 31st last in the reply I gave on May 8th† to the hon. Member for the South Molten Division of Devonshire. I fear that it is impractical to give details for broken periods of a year.
§ MR. CHARLES DEVLINBut I have asked for information to May 15th.
§ MR. VICTOR CAVENDISHIt is impossible to give that yet.