§ MR. MORTON (Sutherland)I beg to ask the hon. Member for South, Somerset, as representing the President of the Board of Agriculture, if he will lay upon the Table a copy of the correspondence which passed in 1903 between the Board of Agriculture and Mr. Herbert Swift, Mr. Ogden Armour, and other representatives of the Chicago meat packers, commonly known as the Beef Trust.
§ MR. J. A. PEASE (for Sir B. STRACHEY)The Board have no knowledge of the correspondence to which my hon. friend refers.
§ "The Times" and the Correspondence Between the German Emperor and. Lord Tweedmouth
§ MR. SWIFT MACNEILL (Donegal, S.)I beg to ask Mr. Attorney General whether, having regard to the fact that the spreading of false news for the purpose of making discord or concerning very great officials of the realm is a misdemeanour punishable by common law 1769 or under certain statutes with fines and imprisonment, he has considered the advisability of putting the Public Prosecutor in motion against The Times newspaper, with reference to the statements in that newspaper concerning the correspondence between the German Emperor and Lord Tweedmouth.
§ THE SOLICITOR GENERAL (Sir SAMUEL EVANS,) Glamorganshire, Mid.My hon. and learned friend has asked me to reply to this Question, and I propose to give it in his own words: "I think any ground of complaint against The Times newspaper in relation to the statement mentioned by the hon. Member may well be left to the judgment of the public, and I do not think it would be advisable to make the statement referred to the subject of legal proceedings."
§ MR. SWIFT MACNEILLMay I ask the hon. and learned Gentleman whether we may take it for granted that the law officers do not regard The Times as of sufficient political importance?
§ SIR SAMUEL EVANSThat is a question which has not come before the law officers.