HC Deb 16 June 1898 vol 59 cc418-9
MR. HOGAN (Tipperary, Mid)

I beg to ask the Attorney General whether, in view of the protracted residence in Toronto of the late Spanish Minister to Washington, and the activity of other Spanish agents sojourning in the Dominion, he can state what powers, if any, are possessed by Colonial Governments to prevent the hospitality of their soil being exploited in the interests of a particular belligerent; and whether a Colonial Government that expels such persons is liable to be sued for damages?

SIR R. WEBSTER

I must decline to enter into the matters raised by the Question of the honourable Member, beyond stating that under ordinary circumstances the power of dealing with the matters referred to depends upon the prerogative of the Crown, and that the Colonial Government would not be liable to be sued for damages in such a case.