MR. GIBSON BOWLES (Lynn Regis)I beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury whether His Majesty's Government propose to lay upon the Table of the House, as the First Report of the Gibraltar Committee, the unanimous replies on 30th March of all its members to the six questions constituting the reference to it; or do they propose to lay, as that Report, the personal letter addressed privately and confidentially by Admiral Rawson on that date to the First Lord of the Admiralty, which letter described itself as an Interim Report; whether His Majesty's Government propose to lay upon the Table both documents, and, if they present only Admiral Rawson's Report, do they propose to lay the whole or only portions thereof.
§ THE FIRST LORD OF THE TREASURY (Mr. A. J. BALFOUR, Manchester, E.)In answer to my hon. friend I have to say that I know of no personal letter addressed by Admiral Rawson to the First Lord of the Admiralty. We propose to lay on the Table of the House both Reports, with their enclosures, except only those portions which, on public grounds, ought, in our opinion, to be treated as confidential. The enclosure in the first Report contains the answers, not to the six questions to which my hon. friend refers, but to five out of the six questions which were asked. One of the questions to which my hon. friend refers was not answered.
MR. GIBSON BOWLESIs my right hon. friend aware that Admiral Rawson himself described this as a personal letter, and that, on that ground, no copy was given to the other members of the Committee?
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURNo, Sir. My hon. friend's memory strangely misleads him, for, in the very first paragraph of the document to which he refers, Admiral Rawson says he has the honour to present this "Interim Report." And he not only signs it himself, but all the other members of the Committee including my hon. friend, signed it with this subscription:—"We agree to the foregoing Report, (Signed) Thomas Gibson Bowles," and the other members of the Committee.