HC Deb 28 June 1938 vol 337 c1688
27. Mr. Creech Jones

asked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs whether the Commissioner for Finance in the Government of Newfoundland is an official of His Majesty's Treasury; whether he acts under the direct instructions from the Dominions Office or the Treasury, or whether he uses his unfettered judgment on matters which come before the Commission; and whether he exercises over the expenditure of the Departments under the other Commissioners any control analogous to that exercised by the Treasury in Great Britain?

Lord Stanley

The present Commissioner for Finance in Newfoundland is an officer seconded from the Treasury in this country. As regards the second part of the question, any instructions from the Secretary of State are given to the Commission of Government as a whole, and not to individual Commissioners, and the position of the Commissioner for Finance is precisely the same in this respect as that of the other Commissioners. As regards the last part of the question, the position is analogous to that in this country, in that the control exercised by the Commissioner for Finance is subject to such decisions affecting expenditure as may be taken from time to time by the Commission as a whole.