مقدم
CONFIDENTIAL
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provided for the Bar. It is, of course, much more expensive for the Government to pay private counsel than to employ Crown Counsel and I do not think that the present system, which serves the Government well, should be abandoned in favour of one which will probably serve it worse and will certainly involve far greater expenditure of public money.
It is true that the number of Crown Counsel exceeds the total of the Bar (which is given as 40). The establishment of the Legal Department is 50; five are Assistant Crown Counsel (an impressive title for what are in fact pupils); on an average, at any time, about one-sixth (say seven) can be expected to be on leave. This leaves 38, from whom three Law Officers can be deducted. The remaining 35 are divided into three sections, advisory, law drafting and prosecutions; those engaged in prosecutions normally number about 12 to 15, which does not seem excessive.
Interchangeability
The advertisement for Crown Counsel concerned contained the following passage, which has been included in advertisements for many years
This is
"Duties. Prosecutions, civil litigation, advisory work and legislative drafting. May be required to act in other legal or judicial posts."
intended to indicate that Crown Counsel are subject to transfer to the Judiciary or Registrar General's Department, not to suggest that secondments are contemplated, though they may occur in certain circumstances. The practice with regard to second- ments and transfers between the Legal Department and the Judiciary accords with the Secretary of State's views as expressed in the correspondence to which you
efer.
de Basto is reported in your note as raising objection that "if a member of the Legal Department
CONFIDENTIAL
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