§ Mr. THOMAS RICHARDSONasked the President of the Board of Agriculture, with reference to the recent appointment of Sir James Wilson to the International Agricultural Institute at Rome, whether the deliberations of the permanent committee are conducted in the French language and the appointee is unable to speak that language; whether such appointments are usually given to persons over sixty years of age; and whether Sir James Wilson is above that age and the holder of a pension of £1,000 a year as a retired Indian Civil Servant?
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§ Mr. RUNCIMANThe discussions of the Committee, which I may say by no means represent the whole work of the delegates, are for the most part conducted in French. I understand that Sir James Wilson's knowledge of that language is sufficient to enable him to follow the proceedings easily and to contribute to them effectively, although he himself, like the delegate for the United States, speaks in English. I do not know the exact age of each member of the Committee, but I understand that several of them are sixty years of age or over. Sir James Wilson is sixty-one, and receives a pension of the amount stated in the last part of the question.