§ MR. T. W. RUSSELL (Tyrone, S.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether, before the discussion on the Evicted Tenants Commission is taken on Monday, the Report of the Commissioners, with or without the Evidence, will be in the hands of Members?
§ THE CHIEF SECRETARY FOR IRELAND (Mr. J. MORLEY,) Newcastle-upon-TyneThe Secretary of the Evicted Tenants Commission states that every effort has been used to complete the printing both of the Report and of the Evidence. The work is being done in Dublin, and that causes some delay. The printers have undertaken to forward copies of the Report for distribution to Members to-night, and the Minutes of Evidence will follow as soon as possible. I can only add that if the Report should not be in the hands of hon. Members by Monday morning, the Government will not feel justified in proceeding with the Debate.
§ MR. PENROSE FITZGERALD (Cambridge)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury if he will explain how it is that although the Report of the Evicted Tenants Commission was placed upon the Table of both Houses of Parliament on Thursday, 9th March, and appeared in the Press on the morning of Friday, 10th March, there was 1703 not a single copy to be obtained in the Vote Office up to 10.30 p.m. yesterday for the use of Members of this House?
§ MR. J. MORLEYA copy of the Report and of the Evidence was presented by me to the House on Thursday evening. It lay in the Office, and was, I believe, seen by several hon. Members, and a précis of the Report, because the whole Report had not appeared, must have been obtained, rightly or wrongly, by some Member who had access to it.
§ MR. PENROSE FITZGERALDArising out of that, may I ask whether substantially the account that has appeared in the Press is a true and correct account of the Report of the Commission?
§ MR. J. MORLEYI have not examined minutely the précis of the report in the Press, but I gather that the portion of the report containing the recommendations of the Commissioners is correct.