§ MR. T. P. O'CONNORI wish to ask whether contracts for the supply of the public service are not made in accordance purely with the public convenience and not from political considerations; and if that be so, whether the First Lord of the Treasury will consider it his duty to stop the growing practice on the part of the supporters of the Government of asking the support at contested elections of the constituency, on the ground of the selection of the constituency for the supply of the public service?
§ *MR. W. H. SMITHI am not aware, Sir, that any supporter of the Government has asked for the support of any constituency on the ground that a special contract has been given out to any particular district. Undoubtedly contracts are given out in the interasts of the public service, and of the public service alone. There would be no justification for giving out any contract unless the public service required it. In all these cases the parties concerned were obviously the fittest persona to execute the contract.
§ MR. T. P. O'CONNORFollowing upon the answer of the right hon. Gentlemen, I would ask whether he is not aware that in the election at Govan another subordinate Member of the Government did give forth, as a reason for supporting the Tory candidate, that the Government intended to give a large amount of orders to the shipbuilding firms of the country, including those of Govan, and whether he is not of opinion that the mention of this fact, as well as of the similar fact mentioned by the Financial Secretary for the War Department in the course of a political address at a contested election, did not hold out the idea that their selection of a candidate would regulate the selection of contracts by the Government.
§ *MR. W. H. SMITHI am not aware of the facts to which the hon. Gentleman refers. I would venture to suggest that the conduct of any hon. Member of this House, be he a Member of the Government or not, is called in question, it would be well to give him notice.
§ MR. T. P. O'CONNORI would remind the right hon. Gentleman that my Question, with regard to the Financial Secretary, followed upon the Question put to him by one of his colleagues on the Tory side.