§ *THE MARQUESS OF BATH rose to ask the Lord Chancellor whether be bad considered the Report of the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the methods of selecting Justices of the Peace, and whether he could state how far he purposed acting on such Report.
§ The noble Marquess said: My Lords, I should like briefly to explain to the House my reasons for putting this Question to the noble and learned Lord. Speaking 419 for myself, and I expect for not a few others, I was by no means unwilling to defer to the opinion expressed by the noble and learned Lord that additions should not, if possible, be made to the Magisterial Bench pending the consideration of the Report of the Commissioners; but the number of aspirants for the coveted honour has mounted up. Parliament will shortly be adjourning and as Quarter Sessions will meet in the recess I venture to suggest that it would be a matter of considerable convenience if the Lord Chancellor could give us some idea what steps he proposes to take on the Report of the Commission. I beg to ask the Question that stands in my name.
§ THE LORD CHANCELLORMy Lords, I welcome very heartily the Report of the Royal Commission, and I believe the result of its recommendations will be to break down the unfortunate tradition that Justices of the Peace should be appointed to that office as a reward for political services. It is an event of great importance that a Commission composed of men of all parties and opinions, whose authority cannot be doubted, should have unanimously declared that all concerned might to decline to recognise political or religious opinions as any ground for qualification or disqualification. I also thoroughly agree in the unanimous opinion of the Commissioners that it is not in the public interest that there should be an undue preponderance of Justices drawn from one political party. The proper course is to discard political influences altogether, and to appoint the most suitable men for this responsible office in such a way that the Bench shall command the complete confidence of the community.
In regard to the practical recommendations made by the Royal Commission, I am prepared in substance to adopt them, and I express the hope that all who are interested—Lords Lieutenant, members of both Houses, and the existing body of Justices—will co-operate in a settlement of this question on the lines of the Report. 420 It will necessarily take a little time to work it out, and meanwhile I think it will be better to confine appointments to those that are urgently needed and to the few outstanding cases in which names have been already approved.
§ THE DUKE OF NORTHUMBERLANDCan the noble and learned Lord give the House any intimation as to when he will be in a position to adopt the recommendations.
§ THE LORD CHANCELLORIn any case where there is urgent need I shall be prepared to act at once in order to put a proper number of magistrates on the Bench. For the next two or three months there will be a close time, if I may use the expression, but I shall offer to the Lords Lieutenant proposals and suggestions before the expiration of the holidays and before Parliament meets again, and I sincerely hope we shall be able to agree as to suitable steps to be taken to carry out the Report.