§ Sir GEORGE KEKEWICHasked the Secretary to the Treasury why the clerical staff in the offices of the Courts of Justice are not subject to the ordinary Civil Service rules regarding retirement on account of age; whether, in consequence of those rules not being applicable, men have been and are being retained in the Service, although advanced age renders them incapable of performing their duties with full efficiency, and the promotion of more efficient men is thereby blocked; whether the difficulty arises from the operation of Section 14 of The Courts of Justice Salaries and Funds Act, 1869, which was extended to all officers of the Supreme Court of Judicature by Section 20 of The Supreme Court of Judicature Act, 1881; and, if so, whether he will bring in a short Bill to terminate this state of things?
§ The ATTORNEY-GENERAL (Sir W. Robson)The subject-matter referred to in the question lies, pursuant to the Judicature Acts, with the Lord Chancellor, the Lord Chief Justice, the Master of the Rolls, and the President of the Divorce and Admiralty Division, and has been before them from time to time. They have not, however, thought fit to make any order regarding retirement on account of age. I do not think there is any substantial grounds for the suggestion contained in the second part of the question, and I can only repeat that, under the Judicature Acts, the officers of the Supreme Court are not part of the ordinary Civil Service. It is not my intention to bring in a Bill dealing with this subject.