§ MR. SWIFT MACNEILL (Donegal, S.)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War whether the despatch by General Lord Kitchener, dated 8th March, 1902, relative to military operations in South Africa, which was presented to Parliament on 26th April, has been presented in its original form, or has it been re-written, edited, or emendated in the form in which it has been thus submitted to the public; and whether, with the view of preventing Papers issued from the War Office, from which passages in the original documents have been suppressed or altered, from misleading the public mind, the War Office will in future adopt the practice of the Foreign Office, which, in publishing documents from which passages are suppressed, marks the omission by asterisks, and intitules such documents with the word "extract."
§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR WAR (Mr. BRODRICK,) Surrey, GuildfordLord Kitchener's despatches are published as received. As regards the second part of the Question, the hon. Member had a distinct reply on the 22nd instant, † to which I have nothing to add.
§ MR. SWIFT MACNEILLThen I ask—Was not the reply to the effect that the right hon. Gentleman had deceived the public? [Cries of "Order!"]
§ * MR. SPEAKERThe hon. Gentleman ought not to make a statement of that kind. The hon. Gentleman, if I hoard him aright, said the right hon. Gentleman had done something to deceive the public.
§ MR. SWIFT MACNEILLNo, Sir. I am in the recollection of the House. What I said was, I asked him would he make some arrangement whereby the public should not be deceived? That is what I intended to convey.
§ Subsequently,
§ MR. SWIFT MACNEILLsaid: Mr. Speaker, if for a moment I conveyed any imputation on the right hon. Gentleman of wilfully deceiving the public, will you allow me most unreservedly to withdraw and apologise?
§ †See preceding Volume, p. 927.