HC Deb 30 May 1832 vol 13 cc193-5
Mr. Stanley

called the attention of the House to a breach of the privileges of that House, which had been committed, and which had been attended with consequences of the most serious kind. A Committee of that House had been sitting above-stairs, and a draft of their report had been prepared: that draft—not the report itself—but the draft had found its way into the public papers. The Committee had taken steps to discover how that Breach of Privilege had been committed, and in consequence of the information which reached them, they called before them a Mr. Sheehan, who was at present in London, and who was one of the proprietors of The Dublin Evening Mail, the first paper in which the document in question was published. Mr. Sheehan, when called before the Committee, acknowledged that it was through him the document in question obtained publicity. He further stated, that he had obtained a copy of it not from or by means of any member of the Committee; but he declined giving any further information on the subject. He (Mr. Stanley) therefore moved, that, Thomas Sheehan be called to the Bar to-morrow.

Mr. Hume

inquired whether or not the publication in question was an exact copy, or merely an abstract of the draft of the Report?

Mr. Stanley

said, it was nearly a correct copy, but some part of it had been omitted; at all events, it was not the Report of the Committee, though it was published.

Mr. O'Connell

wished to know how such a publication was a Breach of Privilege?

Mr. Stanley

said, it purported to be a Report of a Select Committee of that House, and was not so.

Mr. Hume

observed, that they every day saw instances of speeches and proceedings of that House purporting to be what they were not. Publications were to be found which put forth falsehoods of that description; and were they to call for the Editor on every such occasion? Whatever rule was to govern their conduct, he wished it to be fixed and understood.

The Speaker

observed, that such publications would be Breaches of Privilege, whether correct or incorrect, though it might not be always convenient to notice them: that the hon. Member knew as well as any one.

Mr. Stanley

said, it was a matter of the very highest importance that that House should see that none of its officers, intrusted with papers for private circulation, had been guilty of misconduct. Nothing could be more inconvenient than the publication of such papers, and under such circumstances. There was, for example, the Committee on the affairs of the Bank, sitting: It the present moment, and any disclosure of their proceedings could not but lead to pecuniary speculations of the most unjust and most injurious character. Respecting the very draft of a Report to which he had alluded, it was upon a subject as to which the greatest excitement prevailed; and it was not to be endured that the publication of it, purporting to be the Report actually agreed to by the Committee, should take place in Ireland, and that such a document should be criticised in every journal, front one end of Ireland to the other, as the deliberate and recorded decision of a Committee of that House on a subject of the utmost delicacy and importance. In justice he was bound to state, that the printer to tile House, the moment the matter was mentioned, came forward and declared that no copy could have been surreptitiously obtained through his office, and expressed an earnest desire that the whole matter should, without delay, be fully investigated. some negligence, or through some criminality, a copy had been surreptitiously obtained; and it was also ascertained that one of the members of the Committee had not received his copy of the draft.

Mr. Ruthven

deprecated any interference on the part of the House.

Lord Milton

said, that the House must come to some decided understanding, either to punish in the way which was open to them, or to connive at and sanction the publication of such documents. The right hon. Gentleman (Mr. Stanley) had pronounced these disclosures inconvenient to the public service, but he would say, that they were most injurious, and would add, that no Committee could deliberate fairly and safely if documents of this description were circulated before they were agreed to by a Committee.

Question agreed to.