HC Deb 17 May 1887 vol 315 c250
MR. HANBURY (Preston)

asked the hon. Member for the Blackpool Division of Lancashire, Whether the Royal Commission, of which he is the Chairman, will arrange to publish at once the evidence, which is now practically completed, relating to the War Office, as, if such evidence is not published until their Report on the War and Admiralty Offices is issued, valuable information on the subject of this branch of expenditure will not be in the hands of Members for use during the present Session?

SIR MATTHEW WHITE RIDLEY (Lancashire, N., Blackpool), in reply, said, that the Commissioners had not yet completed the whole of the evidence on the War and Admiralty Offices, although it was very nearly finished. It was their hope and expectation to be able to present their first Report before the end of the Session. Under these circumstances, it would be quite contrary to precedent, unsatisfactory, and inconvenient to attempt to meet the wishes of his hon. Friend by publishing an imperfect and fragmentary portion of the evidence.