(_a_) If any such question arises on any Bill pa.s.sed by the Legislative Body, the Lord-Lieutenant may refer such question to Her Majesty in Council;

(_b_) If, in the course of any action or other legal proceeding, such question arises on any Act of the Irish Legislature, any party to such action or other legal proceeding may, subject to the rules in this section mentioned, appeal from a decision on such question to Her Majesty in Council;

(_c_) If any such question arises otherwise than as aforesaid in any Act of the Irish Legislature, the Lord-Lieutenant or one of Her Majesty's princ.i.p.al Secretaries of State may refer such question to Her Majesty in Council;

(_d_) A question referred or appeal brought under this section to Her Majesty in Council shall be referred for the consideration of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council;

(_e_) The decision of Her Majesty in Council on any question referred or appeal brought under this section shall be final, and a Bill which may be so decided to be, or contain a provision, in excess of the powers of the Irish Legislature shall not be a.s.sented to by the Lord-Lieutenant; and a provision of any Act which is so decided to be in excess of the powers of the Irish Legislature shall be void;

(_f_) There shall be added to the Judicial Committee when sitting for the purpose of considering questions under this section, such members of Her Majesty's Privy Council, being or having been Irish judges, as to Her Majesty may seem meet;

(_g_) Her Majesty may, by Order in Council from time to time, make rules as to the cases and mode in which and conditions under which, in pursuance of this section, questions may be referred and appeals brought to Her Majesty in Council, and as to the consideration thereof by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, and any rules so made shall be of the same force as if they were enacted in this Act;

(_h_) An appeal shall not lie to the House of Lords in respect of any question in respect of which an appeal can be had to Her Majesty in Council in pursuance of this section.

Lord-Lieutenant.

[Sidenote: Office of Lord-Lieutenant.]

=26.=--(1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any Act of Parliament, every subject of Her Majesty shall be eligible to hold and enjoy the office of Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, without reference to his religious belief.

(2) The salary of the Lord-Lieutenant shall continue to be charged on the Consolidated Fund of the United Kingdom, and the expenses of his household and establishment shall continue to be defrayed out of moneys to be provided by Parliament.

(3) All existing powers vested by Act of Parliament or otherwise in the Chief Secretary for Ireland may, if no such officer is appointed, be exercised by the Lord-Lieutenant until other provision is made by Act of the Irish Legislature.

(4) The Legislature of Ireland shall not pa.s.s any Act relating to the office or functions of the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland.

Judges and Civil Servants.

[Sidenote: Judges to be removable only on address.]

=27.= A judge of the Supreme Court of Judicature or other Superior Court of Ireland, or of any County Court or other Court with a like jurisdiction in Ireland, appointed after the pa.s.sing of this Act, shall not be removed from his office except in pursuance of an address to Her Majesty from both orders of the Legislative Body voting separately, nor shall his salary be diminished or right to pension altered during his continuance in office.

[Sidenote: Provisions as to judges and other persons having salaries charged on the Consolidated Fund.]

=28.=--(1) All persons who at the pa.s.sing of this Act are judges of the Supreme Court of Judicature or County Court judges, or hold any other judicial position in Ireland shall, if they are removable at present on address to Her Majesty of both Houses of Parliament, continue to be removable only upon such address from both Houses of the Imperial Parliament, and if removable in any other manner shall continue to be removable in like manner as heretofore; and such persons, and also all persons at the pa.s.sing of this Act in the permanent Civil Service of the Crown in Ireland whose salaries are charged on the Consolidated Fund of the United Kingdom, shall continue to hold office and to be ent.i.tled to the same salaries, pensions, and superannuation allowances as heretofore, and to be liable to perform the same or a.n.a.logous duties as heretofore; and the salaries of such persons shall be paid out of the moneys carried to the Customs and Excise account under this Act, or if these moneys are insufficient, out of the Irish Consolidated Fund, and if the same are not so paid shall continue charged on the Consolidated Fund of the United Kingdom.

(2) If any of these said persons retires from office with the approbation of Her Majesty before he has completed the period of service ent.i.tling him to a pension, it shall be lawful for Her Majesty, if she thinks fit, to grant to that person such pension, not exceeding the pension to which he would have been ent.i.tled if he had completed the said period of service, as to Her Majesty seems meet.

[Sidenote: As to persons holding Civil Service appointments.]

=29.=--(1) All persons not above provided for and at the pa.s.sing of this Act serving in Ireland in the permanent Civil Service of the Crown shall continue to hold their offices and receive the same salaries, and to be ent.i.tled to the same gratuities and superannuation allowances as heretofore, and shall be liable to perform the same duties as heretofore or duties of similar rank, but any of such persons shall be ent.i.tled at the expiration of _two years_ after the pa.s.sing of this Act to retire from office, and at any time if required by the Irish Government shall retire from office, and on any such retirement shall be ent.i.tled to receive such payment as the Treasury may award to him in accordance with the provisions contained in the Fourth Schedule to this Act.

(2) The amount of such payment shall be paid to him out of the moneys carried to the Customs and Excise account under this Act, or, if those moneys are insufficient, out of the Irish Consolidated Fund, and so far as the same are not so paid shall be paid out of moneys provided by Parliament.

[Sidenote: 34 & 35 Vict. c. 36.]

(3) The Pensions Commutation Act, 1871, shall apply to all persons who, having retired from office, are ent.i.tled to any annual payment under this section in like manner as if they had retired in consequence of the abolition of their offices.

(4) This section shall not apply to persons who are retained in the service of the Imperial Government.

[Sidenote: Provision for existing pensions and superannuation allowances.]

=30.= Where before the pa.s.sing of this Act any pension or superannuation allowance has been granted to any person on account of service as a judge of the Supreme Court of Judicature of Ireland, or of any Court consolidated into that Court, or as a County Court judge, or in any other judicial position, or on account of service in the permanent Civil Service of the Crown in Ireland otherwise than in some office, the holder of which is, after the pa.s.sing of this Act, retained in the service of the Imperial Government, such pension or allowance, whether payable out of the Consolidated Fund or out of moneys provided by Parliament, shall continue to be paid to such person, and shall be so paid out of the moneys carried to the Customs and Excise account under this Act, or, if such moneys are insufficient, out of the Irish Consolidated Fund, and so far as the same is not so paid, shall be paid as heretofore out of the Consolidated Fund of the United Kingdom or moneys provided by Parliament.

_Transitory Provisions._

[Sidenote: Transitory provisions in Schedule.]

=31.= The provisions contained in the Fifth Schedule to this Act relating to the mode in which arrangements are to be made for setting in motion the Irish Legislative Body and Government, and for the transfer to the Irish Government of the powers and duties to be transferred to them under this Act, or for otherwise bringing this Act into operation, shall be of the same effect as if they were enacted in the body of this Act.

_Miscellaneous._

[Sidenote: Post office and savings banks.]

=32.= Whenever an Act of the Legislature of Ireland has provided for carrying on the postal and telegraphic service with respect to the transmission of letters and telegrams in Ireland, and the post office and other savings banks in Ireland, and for protecting the officers then in such service, and the existing depositors in such post-office savings banks, the Treasury shall make arrangements for the transfer of the said service and banks, in accordance with the said Act, and shall give public notice of the transfer, and shall pay all depositors in such post-office savings bank who request payment within _six months_ after the date fixed for such transfer, and after the expiration of such _six months_ the said depositors shall cease to have any claim against the Postmaster-General or the Consolidated Fund of the United Kingdom, but shall have the like claim against the Consolidated Fund of Ireland, and the Treasury shall cause to be transferred in accordance with the said Act the securities representing the sums due to the said depositors in post-office savings banks, and the securities held for other savings banks.

[Sidenote: Audit.]

=33.= Save as otherwise provided by the Irish Legislature--

(_a_) The existing law relating to the Exchequer and the Consolidated Fund of the United Kingdom shall apply to the Irish Exchequer and Consolidated Fund, and an officer shall from time to time be appointed by the Lord-Lieutenant to fill the office of the Comptroller-General of the receipt and issue of Her Majesty's Exchequer and Auditor-General of public accounts so far as respects Ireland; and

[Sidenote: 29 & 30 Vict. c. 39.]

(_b_) The accounts of the Irish Consolidated Fund shall be audited as appropriation accounts in manner provided by the Exchequer and Audit Departments Act, 1866, by or under the direction of the holder of such office.

[Sidenote: Application of parliamentary law.]

=34.=--(1) The privileges, immunities, and powers to be held, enjoyed, and exercised by the Irish Legislative Body, and the members thereof, shall be such as are from time to time defined by Act of the Irish Legislature, but so that the same shall never exceed those at the pa.s.sing of this Act, held, enjoyed, and exercised by the House of Commons, and by the members thereof.

(2) Subject as in this Act mentioned, all existing laws and customs relating to the members of the House of Commons and their election, including the enactments respecting the questioning of elections, corrupt and illegal practices, and registration of electors, shall, so far as applicable, extend to elective members of the first order and to members of the second order of the Irish Legislative Body. Provided that,--

(_a_) The law relating to the offices of profit enumerated in Schedule H to the Representation of the People Act, 1867, shall apply to such offices of profit in the Government of Ireland not exceeding ten, as the Legislature of Ireland may from time to time direct;

(_b_) After the first dissolution of the Legislative Body, the Legislature of Ireland may, subject to the restrictions in this Act mentioned, alter the laws and customs in this section mentioned.

[Sidenote: Regulations for carrying Act into effect.]

=35.=--(1) The Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland may make regulations for the following purposes:--

(_a_) The summoning of the Legislative Body and the election of a Speaker, and such adaptation to the proceedings of the Legislative Body of the procedure of the House of Commons as appears to him expedient for facilitating the conduct of business by that body on their first meeting;

(_b_) The adaptation of any laws relating to the election of representative peers;

(_c_) The adaptation of any laws and customs relating to the House of Commons or the members thereof to the elective members of the first order and to members of the second order of the Legislative Body; and

(_d_) The mode of signifying their a.s.sent or election under this Act by representative peers or Irish members of the House of Commons as regards becoming members of the Irish Legislative Body in pursuance of this Act.