§ MR. ONSLOWasked Mr. Attorney General, Whether his attention has been drawn to the evidence given at Evesham, before the Election Judges, of the conduct of a certain Mr. Nuttall, member of a political association commonly called the Birmingham League, and who was brought from Birmingham for the purposes of the late election; also of the evidence given before the Oxford Election Commissioners by the Right Honourable Sir William Harcourt, reported in the daily newspapers, regarding the arrival in the borough of Oxford of a certain Mr. Schnadhorst (also a member of the Birmingham League) for election purposes; and, whether, should a Bill for the further prevention of bribery and corrupt practices at elections unfortunately not become Law this Session, he could devise some means to prevent the contaminating influence of members of the Birmingham League when introduced among constituencies during contested elections, nominally for the purpose of acting as agents?
§ MR. LABOUCHEREasked Mr. Attorney General, Whether his attention has been drawn to the evidence given at Oxford, before the Election Judges, of the conduct of Colonel Talbot, member of a political association, commonly called the Carlton Club, and who sent down money belonging to that association to Oxford, for the purposes of the late election; and, whether, should a Bill for the further prevention of bribery and corrupt practices at elections unfortunately not become Law this Session, he could devise some means to prevent the contaminating influence of money from members of the aforesaid association being introduced among constituencies during contested elections?
§ THE ATTORNEY GENERAL (Sir HENRY JAMES)I hope I may be excused for saying that it is somewhat to be regretted that Questions relating to electioneering matters should be asked in this House. I am asked whether my attention has been called to the evidence given at Evesham of a certain Mr. Nuttall. I have referred to the Report of the learned Judge, and I do not find that the Judge, either in the Report or in the Schedule, in any way refers to Mr. Nuttall as having been guilty of corrupt practices. My hon. Friend also asks me as to the case of Mr. Schnadhorst at Oxford. My information on this subject is derived entirely from the newspaper reports, which, of course, are open to the reading and criticism of any hon. Member; but, as the Question has been put to me, I must say that, judging from those reports, I find nothing in the conduct of Mr. Schnadhorst that in any way justifies the suggestion that he contaminated the constituency. Perhaps, however, my hon. Friend opposite has been led into some confusion in this matter by the fact, as far as my memory serves me, that a stranger did go to that constituency with a large sum of money received from a political organization which certainly tended to corrupt and contaminate the constituency. My memory is very indistinct on the subject; but I believe that the person referred to did not bear the name of Schnadhorst, while the organization which provided the money was to be found not in Birmingham, but in London. The hon. Members for Guildford and Northampton seem to concur in asking what I should do if the Corrupt Practices Bill was not passed into law this Session. I regret very much that I am unable to answer the Question, as that is a position I am unable to contemplate.