§ MR. O'DONNELLasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, Whether any measures can be taken to suppress the hawking of disgusting and vicious literature, which has recently increased to such an extent in most frequented thoroughfares of London?
MR. ASSHETON CROSS, in reply, said, there was no doubt that there had been a considerable distribution of these 1719 papers, and he should be extremely glad to see them stopped. The attention of the police had been directed to the matter; but the legal adviser of the police informed him that the papers which had been forwarded to him by the hon. Member for Dungarvan were not such as to bring them within their powers so as to prevent the circulation. At the same time, the police would do all they could to stop the circulation of these papers. He would remind hon. Members, however, although they might wish to stop what was wrong, that literature of the kind complained of very often died a natural death, unless by certain prosecutions it had been made notorious.