§ MR. A. GREYasked the First Lord of the Treasury, Whether he will consent to lay upon the Table of the House the Reports of the Local Government Inspectors, and the Constabulary Returns referred to in sections 11, 13, and 16 of the Treasury Minute on Arrears of Rent in Ireland, dated the 26th day of June 1882?
MR. GLADSTONESir, it will not be in my power to present the Papers to which the hon. Member refers, because, in truth, they are most strictly in the nature of communications between the responsible head of a Department and his subordinate officers, and all confidence in the proceedings of those subordinate officers would be destroyed if such Papers were produced, and, moreover, they could not in any case be produced without the consent of each person connected with them, which would require a great deal of time to obtain; and, further, they contain many references to individual cases for the purpose of supporting the general statement, and these Reports of individual cases could not possibly be given. I think I may say I have carried the principle of communication to the House very much further than is usual in connection with confidential statements.