§ MR. D. FORTESCUEasked the Under Secretary of State for War, Whether he will lay upon the table of the House the proceedings of the late Court Martial on Colonel Crawley, together with the plans referred to in the evidence; and whether, with a view to the elucidation of such plans, an opportunity would be afforded to Members of the House of inspecting the models produced before the Court Martial?
THE MARQUESS OF HARTINGTONsaid, he believed lie had stated last Session, in reference to the proceedings of the Mhow court martial, that it was not usual and would not be desirable that the proceedings before such a tribunal should be laid before the House of Commons for its revision; but that, under the peculiar circumstances of that particular case, no objection would be made to lay the papers connected with it on the table, if they were moved for. As to the court martial which had recently been held at Aldershot, its proceedings were so mixed up with those before the Mhow court martial, which were already in the hands of Members, that there would be no objection to take in that instance also the course which had been pursued last year; and if the hon. Member moved for the production of the papers for which he asked, they would be laid on the table. Those papers would be accompanied by a plan, drawings, and correct measurements, so as to enable hon. Members to understand precisely the proceedings. With reference to the models, he had to state that they constituted portions of the evidence and formed a part of the record of the court martial itself, and it would not, therefore, be convenient or desirable that they should be removed from the custody of the officer in whose charge they were at present placed.