§ 35. Mr. GINNELLasked on whose nomination, at what date, and at what salary, Mr. C. T. Beard became secretary to the Irish Land Commission; what positions he held prior to that time; where, if at all, he acquired the special knowledge of Irish Land Laws which that position requires; what qualifications and previous experience were alleged to make his claim superior to that of officials of many years' service in that Department; whether the work for which he is paid is now done by those officials and could not be done by him without them; and whether he is one of the salaried officials who must be maintained and pensioned out of Irish revenue under the Government of Ireland Bill?
§ Mr. BIRRELLMr. Beard was appointed secretary to the Irish Land Commission 1170 from the 1st October, 1910, at a salary of £1,200 per annum. The appointment was made by the Land Commission with the consent of the Lord Lieutenant under the authority of Section 45 of the Land Act of 1881. Mr. Beard had been for upwards of thirty-two years in the permanent Civil Service of the Crown, and at the date of his appointment he was a first-class clerk on the staff of the Chief Secretary's Office, Dublin Castle. During the six years immediately preceding his appointment to the Land Commission he was successively clerk in charge of the Irish Office, London, and private secretary to the Chief Secretary. In appointing Mr. Beard as their secretary the Land Commissioners selected the gentleman, who, in their opinion, was by reason of his qualification and experience best fitted for the post, and he has since proved his competency to their entire satisfaction. Mr. Beard's duties are mainly connected with land purchase, and as that is a "reserved service," under the Government of Ireland Bill, the provisions of that Bill with respect to the salaries and pensions of existing Irish officers will not apply to his office.