OBSERVATIONS. QUESTION. (Hansard, 13 February 1880)

THE MARQUESS OF LOTHIAN,

in rising to ask a Question of which he had given Notice on this subject, said, his object was to ascertain if the Prime Minister would give an authoritative statement as to why Dr. Farr had been passed over in filling the appointment of Registrar General. Dr. Farr had been for many years employed in the office, and he believed that during the whole of that time he had fulfilled his 586 duties with ability and devotion. He (the Marquess of Lothian) did not mean to imply that it was necessary that a person who had been long in an office should, when a vacancy occurred, be promoted to it; but there was a general tendency to believe that when a person had been so long in a Department, and was not promoted, there must be something against him. His (the Marquess of Lothian's) reason for asking this Question was that it had come to his knowledge that, certainly in Scotland, and to some extent in England also, an impression had arisen among the Medical Profession—an impression which he was sure was mistaken—that Dr. Farr had not been promoted only because he was a medical man. He was certain that, in appointing Sir Brydges Henniker to the vacant office, there had been no intention to throw any reflection on the Medical Profession, many individual members of which must be known to their Lordships as honourable men of great business capacity. He trusted the noble Earl at the head of the Government would not think him unreasonable in asking this Question, but would agree with him that it would be a great misfortune that any misapprehension which had arisen should be allowed to continue if it were possible to remove it. In conclusion, the noble Marquess asked the First Lord of the Treasury, with reference to the recent appointment to the office of Registrar General, Whether the long services of Dr. Farr had been taken into consideration; and whether he would state why Dr. Farr had not been selected as the successor of George Graham, Esquire, in that office?

§ THE EARL OF BEACONSFIELD

My Lords, I know nothing in the duties of a Minister more difficult than the distribution of patronage. It has fallen to my lot several times since I acceded to Office to exercise that function, and I can truly say that I never make an appointment of any kind without due regard to the interests of the Public Service. Now, with respect to this question, my noble Friend intimates that I have even incurred the ill-feeling of a learned and illustrious Profession, on whose skill most of your Lordships and I myself much depend. Generally speaking, however actuated one may be by a high sense of duty in, 587 the distribution of patronage, Questions are generally asked in Parliament in regard to it. Sometimes Votes of Censure are passed, and sometimes Votes of Censure are rescinded. In the present case of Dr. Farr, the original wish of the Government was to appoint him to the vacant office. I know Dr. Farr by reputation; his claims are obvious, his labours in his office have always been admitted; but I may add that they have been amply recognized by the State. But when I had to make those inquiries which were necessary before the appointment was made, such a representation was made to me as to the state of health of Dr. Farr that I shrank from the responsibility of appointing him to discharge such very arduous duties as the office to which my noble Friend has referred entails. I have here—I am unwilling to read it, and I shall not read it, though it is at the service of my noble Friend—an official document asking for a superannuation for Dr. Farr; and the statement as to his health which is made in that document, combined with the fact that he is now 72 years of age, is of that description that I feel confident none of your Lordships, on whichever side of the House you sit, would, after reading that document, authorize the appointment of Dr. Farr to the post in question. This is the ground, and the only ground, on which the Government acted as regards Dr. Farr; and as to supposing there was a prejudice on the part of the Government against the appointment of a medical man to the head of an office, the duties of which are intimately connected with the qualifications and acquisitions of the Medical Profession, I am sure your Lordships will, without a moment's hesitation, acquit me, or anyone occupying my position, of being influenced by such a feeling. After I found it to be out of my power to appoint Dr. Farr, the office was open for a considerable period. A great many names were mentioned; and the gentleman who now fills the office received the appointment because I believed, on the whole, that he was the most competent to perform its duties. I had no personal acquaintance with him; but he was the one who, to my mind, gave the best promise of the ability to fulfil duties which are of the greatest importance, and which certainly require health and vigour for their performance, par- 588 ticularly at this moment, when preparations are making for taking a new Census of the country.