§ MR. ARTHUR O'CONNOR (Donegal, E.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary for Ireland by whose instructions and on whose authority, and with what purpose, there has been added to Parliamentary Paper No. 211 of the present Session (being a Return of civil bills in ejectment, and writs for the recovery of land in Ireland) an appendix containing extraneous matter not moved for, and not included in the Order of the House of the 25th February, or in the Order of the House of the 9th May, upon which the Return was presented?
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURThe appendix in question was added by direction of the Irish Government for the information of the House, as it was found that without the further information the Return might be misleading. The Return, as ordered, gave only civil bills entered and writs issued during certain years. The appendix shows the actual evictions during those years.
§ MR. A. O'CONNORAs a point of order, may I ask if it is competent for any Member of the Government, after the House has ordered a limited Return for a special purpose, to add to that Return, of his own Motion, matter entirely extraneous to the Motion passed by the House, and giving an entirely different character to the Return?
§ * MR. SPEAKERI have no hesitation in saying that such a proceeding is irregular.