§ MR. J. SWIFT MACNEILL (Donegal, S.)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether his attention has been directed to the sixth section of the Appellate Jurisdiction Act, providing that the House of Lords may sit for the purpose of hearing and determining appeals during any prorogation of Parliament, with a view, as it is expressly stated, of preventing delay in the administration of justice; and whether, in the event of a Select Committee of the House of Commons being appointed for the investigation of the affairs of the South Africa Company, he will consider the propriety of introducing a short Bill for the purpose of conferring on that body a power to sit during any prorogation of Parliament?
§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES (Mr. J. CHAMBERLAIN,) Birmingham, W.The hon. Gentleman has again put to me a question which, I think, he will recognise as being hypothetical, which it is rather unusual to put and unusual to answer. However, out of courtesy to him, I may say the section of the Appellate Jurisdiction Act to which the hon. and learned Member appears to allude is not the sixth but the eighth, and has reference to the House of Lords sitting during any prorogation of Parliament only for the purposes of hearing and determining appeals as a Court of Law and of the Lords of Appeals in ordinary taking their seats and the oaths. It is expressly stated in the section that no other business shall be transacted by such House during such prorogation. In answer to the second part of the hon. Member's Question I must refer him to my reply to his former Question on this subject, and have only to add that I have no intention of proposing any such legislation as he describes.
§ MR. MACNEILLI beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether his attention has been directed to a speech delivered in the Legislative Assembly of the Cape of Good Hope by 1231 the Honourable Sir James Sivewright, a member of the Cape Cabinet, in which he said that it was thought the English Government and Chartered Company in London knew a great deal more about the business (the Transvaal Raid) than had come out, and that until the last vestige of suspicions of this kind were removed they would continue to have race feeling in this country; and whether the Secretary of State, with a view of allaying these suspicions, will take measures to secure that the proposed Inquiry into the affairs of the South Africa Company should be assisted by the evidence and not by the control, as a Member of the Committee, of any Minister of the Crown?
§ MR. J. CHAMBERLAINMy attentention has been directed to the speech to which the hon. and learned Member alludes. It is for this House to decide what Members are to compose the Committee. If it is the pleasure of the House that any Minister should serve he would not on that account control the Committee. It is, of course, competent to the Committee to summon any Minister before it to give evidence. I will only add that, as far as I am personally concerned, I should be very pleased to be spared the additional labour of serving on a Committee.
§ MR. J. H. DALZIEL (Kirkcaldy Burghs)May I take it that it is now decided that it shall be a Committee?
§ MR. J. CHAMBERLAINNo, Sir; no final decision will be come to until after the trial, and then an announcement will be made to the House.