HC Deb 15 December 1908 vol 198 cc1551-3
MR. WALDRON (Dublin, St. Stephen's Green)

To ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer whether Section 4 of the Superannuation Act, 1859, applies to the office of Clerk of the Crown and Peace in Ireland; whether the Treasury are empowered, when any person holding such office retires, to add a certain number of years to those actually served in the situation in computing the amount of superannuation allowance; whether any precedent exists whereby a person holding the office of Clerk of the Crown, Clerk of the

Scotland, and Ireland during the years ended 30th September, 1904, 1905, 1906, and 1907, respectively, the Distilleries of each country being classified under the headings of: (1) Distilleries using Pot Stills only; (2) Distilleries using Patent Stills only; and (3) Distilleries using both Pot and Patent Stills—

Peace, or the conjoint office, has received a pension with the addition of years under Section 4; whether a Treasury Minute, dated 30th December, 1888, was issued to State Departments declaring that the grant of additional years would be superseded in the case of any officer appointed after 30th November, 1888; is he aware that the then Chancellor of the Exchequer undertook to Parliament on 30th November, 1888, that existing officers would not be affected by the new regulation; have the Treasury, notwithstanding the promise made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1888, without the authority of any statute such as it was then stated would be introduced, and without notice to existing officers prior to resignation applied the Minute of 20th December, 1888, to persons then actually excluded from it; and has he sanctioned this departure from the undertaking of his predecessor given through the House of Commons to existing officers.

(Answered by Mr. Lloyd-George.) The answer to the first, second, third, and sixth Questions is in the negative. The Minute referred to in the fourth Question is not applicable to the office in question, which has never been brought under the section. The answer to the fifth Question is in the affirmative; and the answer to the seventh Question is that no departure has been made from the undertaking referred to.