§ MR. BOTTOMLEY (Hackney, S.)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he can state the number of convictions for indictable offences during the year 1905 against clergymen of the Church of England and ministers of other religious denominations, solicitors, company promoters, licensed victuallers, bookmakers, and moneylenders respectively.
§ * MR. GLADSTONENo, Sir. To obtain the information asked for by the hon. Member would involve the separate examination of some 50,000 records of criminal cases; and even if it were possible to undertake this labour, the results, depending as they would necessarily do on statements made by the prisoners themselves, would be of small value. There would, for instance, be hardly any bookmakers, as I understand that gentlemen of that profession almost invariably return themselves either as accountants or as commission agents.
§ MR. BOTTOMLEYBut have you not the information at the Home Office in connection with the forthcoming publication of judicial statistics for 1905, and did not the right hon. Gentleman accept the declarations of prisoners on a; recent return as to their religious persuasions?
§ * MR. GLADSTONEI cannot enter into an argument. It is not the case that we have the information at the present time.