§ MR. DARBY GRIFFITHsaid, he would beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for War, Whether it is the intention of the military anthorities to take any official notice of the letter published by Lieutenant Colonel Dawkins' on the 1st June, contradicting the statements respecting his case which have been put forward by those authorities?
THE MARQUESS OF HARTINGTONSir, the letter referred to by the hon. Gentleman was addressed to the Editor of The Times, and was published in that newspaper on the 1st of June. I have not had an opportunity, since the hon. Gentleman placed his Notice upon the paper, of consulting either the Secretary for War or the Commander-in-Chief on the subject; but I believe it would be quite unprecedented that any official notice should be taken by the military authorities of a letter addressed not to them but to a newspaper. I can, therefore, safely inform the hon. Gentleman that no official notice has been taken of that letter, which contained statements in reply to my speech on Lieutenant Colonel Dawkins's case that do not in any way affect the Secretary for War or the Commander-in-Chief. I alone am responsible for the statements in that speech, and after consulting all the documents to which I have access, I still believe them to be substantially accurate. The hon. Gentleman may feel assured that it is not my intention to enter into any correspondence with Lieutenant Colonel Dawkins on the subject. I am quite content to allow hon. Gentlemen who still take an interest in Lieutenant Colonel Dawkins's case to judge whether there is any substantial difference between that gentleman's statements and mine.
§ MR. DARBY GRIFFITHsaid, he supposed he might take it that the noble Lord's statements were not made upon the authority of either the Secretary for War or the Commander-in-Chief.