§ Sir WILLIAM BULLasked the Secretary to the Treasury what was the sum paid to counsel in the Treasury prosecutions in London during 1907 and 1908, and in the three months of 1909, as compared with the same three months of 1907; and can he account for the increase?
§ Mr. HOBHOUSEIn reply to the hon. Member it may be well to remind him that since 1879 (when the Act creating the office of Director of Public Prosecutions was passed) the description "Treasury prosecution" has been both inaccurate and misleading. For practically 30 years all criminal cases, formerly conducted by the Treasury Solicitor, have been con-ducted under the Prosecution of Offences Acts by the Director of Public Prosecutions, and in such cases in 1907 the fees paid to counsel in London were £7,312 11s. 6d.; in 1908, £11,127 7s. 7d. The increased figure in this year was largely due to the trial of the Mile End guardians and the managers of the Poplar Sick Asylum. For the first three months of 1907 the amount paid to counsel in London was £2,277 1s. 10d., and for the corresponding period in 1909 the amount incurred was £3,945 12s. 6d., the increase in 1909 over the corresponding period of 1907 having been occasioned by the proceedings in Rex v. Bottomley and others.