HC Deb 04 May 1887 vol 314 cc840-1
THE SOLICITOR GENERAL (Sir EDWARD CLARKE) (Plymouth)

I wish, Sir, to ask the indulgence of the House with regard to a matter of personal explanation as to something I said yesterday evening in addressing the House with reference to the hon. Member for Cardiff (Sir Edward Reed). In the course of his speech the hon. Member for Northampton (Mr. Labouchere) re- ferred to an incident which took place 24 years ago in this House, when the hon. Member for Cardiff, not then a Member of this House, was called to the Bar of the House. In speaking of it afterwards as an incident I remembered, I find I used the words "was brought to the Bar in consequence of charges he had made with regard to naval administration." The hon. Gentleman the Member for Cardiff has been good enough to call my attention to a letter on which a formal Motion of Breach of Privilege was made, and that letter was not one which attacked naval administration, but was one addressed to a Member of the House, saying— I call upon you to say why you made this false and libellous statement against me in your place in Parliament, and on what grounds you justify it. I beg to say I have not sought the post at the Admiralty, and I think when an hon. Member puts forward the claims of his supporter, he ought to do so without subjecting me to personal abuse in a place where I can have no opportunity of answering him. Sir, it is not accurate to say that the article contained charges with regard to naval administration; but it contained the words I have just read, and I am obliged to the hon. Member for Cardiff for giving me an opportunity of expressing my regret that, in dealing with the matter which occurred so long ago, I was guilty of an inaccuracy.

SIR EDWARD REED (Cardiff)

I am obliged to the hon. and learned Gentleman for having made this explanation. I was naturally anxious not to have it supposed that I was ever brought to the Bar of this House for having made accusations against the naval administration, because the greater part of my political life has been spent in making complaints against bad naval administration. I was brought to the Bar of this House 24 years ago for having written a letter to a Member of this House about something which fell from him in this House.