PRIVY COUNCIL JUDICIAL COMMITTEE

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVIII, Issue 288, 21 November 1928, Page 5

PRIVY COUNCIL JUDICIAL COMMITTEE

APPOINTMENT OF TWO ADDITIONAL MEMBERS.

United Press Association—By Cable Copyright.)

[Australian Press Assn. —United Service.) (Received 21, 12.55 p.m.) London, Nov. 20.

In the House of Commons Sir T. W. K. Inskip, the AttorneyGeneral, moved the appointment of two additional members of the judicial committee of the Privy Council with a salary of £4OOO and a pension of £lOOO. and an additional judge of the Appeal Court with a salary of £6OOO and a pension of £3750. He pointed out that Lord Haldane shortened his life through overwork on the judicial committee. Sir H. Slesser, K.C. (Lab., Leeds) asked if Lord Birkenhead would claim from the Lord Chancellor his pension of £5OOO seeing he did not nropose to serve on the judicial committee.

Sir T. W. H. Inskip replied that Lord Birkenhead had informed him that he would shortly undertake new employment at substantial emoluments and proposed to claim the pension only for the transition period Nevertheless, Lord Birkenhead’s view was that the pension was for past, not present, legal services.

Sir Hamar Greenwood (Cons.. Walthamstow) said the judicial committee was the strongest link in the Empire and needed to be strengthened. The Canadian view was that we ought not to depend on aged jurists who, however eminent in their prime, no longer impressed litigants and counsel from the dominions and colonies.

Mr. Wedgewood Benn (Lab., N Aberdeen) asked how many directorships Lord Birkenhead would need before he relinquished his pension. Could he reclaim the pension if his commercial ventures came to nothing. Sir T. W H. Inskip: Certainly. The resolution was carried without a division.