§ 86. Mr. S. MacNEILLasked the Prime Minister what are the duties attaching to the office of Judge Advocate-General; is the tenure of the position of Judge Advocate-General now, as in former times, dependent on the existence of the Government by which the appointment is 207 made, and does the privilege of personal access to His Majesty the King to tender advice on matters relating to the administration of military law and responsibility for that advice to the House of Commons still appertain to the office of Judge Advocate-General, whose holder till recent times was invariably a Member of the House of Commons and of the Government of the day and a Privy Councillor, and will he say what are the changes in the constitution and duties of this office; and how has it ceased to be a Parliamentary office and position entitling its holder, as King's Attorney-General for the Army, to safeguard the rights and liberties of soldiers under military law and to secure the just administration of that law?
§ The PRIME MINISTERWith regard to the first part of the question, I would refer my hon. and learned Friend to an answer given by my Noble Friend Lord Haldane on the 25th April, 1906, of which I am sending my hon. and learned Friend a copy, and also to the letters patent appointing Sir T. Milvain to this office which were laid before, the House in Cd. 7201 of 1906. The answer to the second part of the question is in the negative. The fudge Advocate-General, as stated in the "Manual of Military Law," is now a permanent official under the orders of and acting as legal adviser to the Secretary of State. He is no longer a Privy Councillor, nor does he advise the Crown directly. With regard to the fourth part of the question, there have been no changes in the constitution of this office since 1905. With regard to the last part of the question, the office ceased to be a political one in 1892, when Sir F. Jeune was appointed.