§ It being now five minutes to three o'clock thirty-six starred questions to the Irish Office, seventeen to the Colonial Office, and twelve to the War Office remained unanswered.
§ MR. JOHN REDMONDasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his attention had been called to the fact that 1325 to-day in the time allocated to Questions, less than one-half of the questions on the Paper were asked, and also that all the Irish Questions put down to the Chief Secretary were excluded; and whether the Government would consider this matter when they prepared the scheme which they were about to submit to the Committee on Procedure, with a view to giving more time to all Questions.
§ MR. ASQUITHI have been very much struck almost every day since the House has met by the extreme unfairness of the existing arrangements. The hon. Gentleman and his friends happen to be the victims to-day, but also not a single Question addressed to the Under-Secretary for the Colonies, many of them of the greatest importance, and not a single Question addressed to the Secretary for War, have been reached. That is a very serious and inconvenient state of things and one which will engage the attention, I hope, of the Committee, as it will of the Government.