§ GENERAL SIR GEORGE BALFOURasked the Secretary of State for India, If he will cause a selection of Papers for a long series of years connected with the Government of the Nizam to be laid before Parliament, in order that the real state of the relations of that State with the Government of India may be made known, and that the animadversions on the honour and character of the Indian Government and of Indian officers may be cleared away, or substantiated by the publication of these official documents? He had put the Question on the Paper, because he believed the time had come when the Government of India ought no longer to maintain silence on this matter. He hoped that the noble Marquess the Secretary of State for India would be able to give a satisfactory reply regarding these proceedings.
§ MR. ONSLOWsaid, that as these Papers would take some time to get ready, he should like to know whether the Secretary of State or the Indian Government had the slightest suspicion that any of these allegations could be verified?
THE MARQUESS OF HARTINGTON, in reply, said, that with regard to the Question of the hon. Member for Guild-ford (Mr. Onslow) he could not add anything to the statement he made on Thursday last. In reply to a Question which his hon. and gallant Friend (Sir George Balfour) put to him on Thursday without Notice, he said that he felt certain that the greater part of these Papers were of so confidential a character that it would be absolutely impossible, con- 1917 sistently with the public interest, to lay them on the Table. Further examination of them had convinced him that that was the case, and that although it was quite possible to procure some of them, the great bulk of the Papers, and these the most important, could not possibly be produced. It was, however, possible that the Government of India, or the late Resident at Hyderabad, might think it necessary to make some statement with reference to the animadversions referred to. If any such statement should be made, supported by the Correspondence, he should, of course, consider whether these should be laid on the Table. He could not give any further reply without communication with the Government of India.