§ MR. MACLURE (Lancashire, S.E., Stretford)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade when the whole of the evidence taken before the Committee on Hours of Labour (Railway Servants) will be printed and delivered to Members; and whether the Memorandum circulated by the Chairman, giving his opinion as to the evidence of Hood, can be obtained?
§ *THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF TRADE (Sir MICHAEL HICKS BEACH,) Bristol, W.I am quite unable to answer the first paragraph. It depends upon the printer, over whom I have no authority. The Report of the Committee was circulated this morning. Perhaps I may add that the account of that Report 1053 appearing in the Press has been both inaccurate and incomplete. With regard to the second paragraph, I hardly understand how the hon. Member is acquainted with the existence of any such Paper. I suppose the Paper to which he refers was the confidential analysis of the evidence which I drew up for the information of the Committee, in the belief that they would desire to express an opinion on the conduct of Hood. On considering the matter they deemed it not to be their duty to express any such opinion, and, at the instance, I think, of the hon. Baronet the Member for the County of Durham, they unanimously agreed to the paragraph in their special Report to that effect. Therefore, of course, the analysis I had drawn up is not included in the Papers which will be published.
§ MR. MACLUREIs Mr. Hood authorised to go and hold meetings in my constituency, as he is doing now, and denounce me in the most disgraceful way, according to the Manchester papers, without my having any chance out of respect to the House to reply to him?
§ *SIR MICHAEL HICKS BEACHOf course, I cannot advise my hon. Friend as to his conduct in the matter, but the whole of the evidence has been printed and is in the possession of the House. The House can form an opinion from that evidence, and so can the hon. Member's constituents, as to what Hood's conduct has been.