§ SIR HENRY TYLER (Great Yarmouth)said, he wished before the House rose to ask a Question of the right hon. Gentleman the Home Secretary (Mr. Matthews) in regard to the miserable criminal Lipski, who was to be executed on Monday morning. He saw from the newspapers that the right hon. Gentleman the Home Secretary had sent a communication to Mr. Hayward, the convict's solicitor, stating that he had carefully considered all the circumstances of the case, and that he could not discover any sufficient ground to justify him in advising that the law should not take its course. He desired to know whether, before he communicated that statement to Mr. Hayward, the right hon. Gentleman had seen Mr. Hayward and had heard all he had to advance as to his belief in Lipski's innocence; and whether he had seen and fully consulted the learned Judge (Mr. Justice Stephen) before whom Lipski was tried? He would also ask the right hon. Gentleman whether he would grant one week's respite—as there seemed to be considerable doubt and difficulty in the case—in order that further inquiries might be made, and further consideration given to it?
§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE HOME DEPAETMENT (Mr. MATTHEWS) (Birmingham, E.)I am obliged to my hon. Friend for giving me an opportunity of making a statement in public on this matter. Before announcing to the officers who had charge of Lipski that I was unable to advise Her Majesty to interfere at all with the sentence, I had not seen Mr. Hayward myself, but I had had a prolonged interview of more than two hours with Mr. Justice Stephen, who had recently seen Mr. Hayward and heard all he had to allege; and we discussed in common all that the learned Judge had gathered from Mr. Hayward. Since I have been in the House to-day I have learnt that an account of what passed at the interview between Mr. Justice Stephen and Mr. Hayward had appeared in print; and I wish to say that I have heard from Mr. Justice Stephen this afternoon that such statements in the 449 public Press are partly exaggerated, partly false, and altogether irrelevant to the inference drawn. He further informs me that he is in no degree dissatisfied, either with the verdict or with my decision. And, again, he says—
I did not at the time feel so clear and strong in my opinion as you did, but your decision has not surprised me nor given me the least uneasiness.Therefore, in what I have done, I hope my hon. Friend will see that I have acted in entire accord with the learned Judge. Perhaps I may add that Mr. Hay ward never asked to see me till about three-quarters of an hour ago, and I have been in interview with him ever since, and I am now about to return to continue the interview. I need not say that in a case of this sort my mind will be kept open to listen to and give the fullest weight to everything which can be urged on behalf of the unhappy man. May I also say that, before I saw Mr. Hayward, I had read the printed statement which he had issued on behalf of the convict, and had considered every line of it with the most anxious care.
§ SIR HENRY TYLERThe right hon. Gentleman has not answered the last part of my Question, as to whether he will grant a respite for a week for further inquiry?
§ MR. MATTHEWSI can give no answer to that.
§ MR. CUNNINGHAME GRAHAM (Lanark, N.W.)asked whether the right hon. Gentleman had clearly considered that all the evidence in this case was given in an almost incomprehensible jargon compounded of Hebrew, Polish, and German?
§ MR. MATTHEWSCertainly, I have considered that.