§ MR. SAMUEL EVANS (Glamorganshire, Mid)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he can now state whether Mr. Albert Cart-wright, the editor of the South African News, of Cape Town, has been sentenced to twelve months imprisonment for a criminal libel on Lord Kitchener; whether the sole charge against Mr. Cartwright was that he had republished a letter which had appeared three weeks before in the Dublin Freeman's Journal in full and in the London Times in part; whether during those three weeks any 44 contradiction had been given by the Government to the statements contained in the letter; whether Mr. Cartwright published the denial of those statements given by Lord Kitchener immediately such denial was made known; whether, under the Cape prison regulations, Mr. Cartwright is debarred from the privileges of a first-class misdemeanant in this country; and whether permission both to see his wife or receive books has been denied to him by the Cape authorities; and whether the Cape Attorney General is now on his way to this country; if so, whether on his arrival he will discuss with him the possibility of advising some mitigation of the sentence passed on Mr. Cartwright.
§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES (Mr. J. CHAMBERLAIN,) Birmingham, W.I have seen the report of this trial in the Cape newspapers, and the facts as to the nature of the charge, the sentence, and the publication of Lord Kitchener's denial appear to be substantially as stated by the hon. Member. I am not prepared to modify in any respect the answer which I gave to the hon. Member on the 2nd instant†, or to interfere with the administration of the law in a self-governing colony. I am not aware of the actual treatment which Mr. Cartwright is receiving, which is a matter entirely within the sphere of the Cape Government.