§ MR. MAYNEasked the Under Secretary of State fur Foreign Affairs, By whose authority a copy of General Gordon's Proclamation was supplied to a portion of the London Press before any copies had been delivered to Members of the House; whether he can state why copies are supplied to only a few newspapers in London; and, whether he will see that, in future, the whole of the London Press and the Provincial Press, through the news agencies, are placed on the same footing with regard to Foreign Office communications?
§ LORD EDMOND FITZMAURICEGeneral Gordon's Proclamation was sent, by the authority of the Secretary of State, to a portion of the London Press, so that it should appear simultaneously with the delivery of the copies to the House. In regard to the second and third Questions of the hon. Member, they will be replied to by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the Question of the right hon. Baronet the Member for East Gloucestershire (Sir Michael Hicks-Beach).
§ SIR MICHAEL HICKS-BEACHasked the First Lord of the Treasury, Whether, in view of the repeated instances, which have recently occurred, of the publication of official documents in the newspapers before they are distributed among honourable Members, he will take steps to secure that the Heads of Departments shall adopt some effectual measures to prevent such publication in future?
§ THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER (Mr. CHILDERS)The First Lord of the Treasury has asked me to reply to this Question. Our attention has been drawn to cases of the premature publication in the newspapers of official documents about to be circulated to Members of Parliament, and a Treasury Minute on the subject will be prepared and communicated to the Heads of Departments suggesting a course of proceeding which will, I hope, put a stop to this irregularity in future. There is no evi- 362 dence that the particular publication to which I presume the right hon. Gentleman refers was the act of anybody connected with Her Majesty's Government.
§ SIR MICHAEL HICKS-BEACHasked whether the Treasury Minute referred to would be laid upon the Table?
§ THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER (Mr. CHILDERS)Yes; I think so. I do not think there will be any objection to its publication.
§ MR. DALRYMPLEasked if it was not the case that copies of the Queen's Speech were placed at the disposal of the Press the day before Parliament met?
§ MR. ARTHUR O'CONNORremarked that for several years the Report of the Inspector General of Recruiting had appeared in the newspapers before it was placed in the hands of hon. Members.