HC Deb 28 July 1910 vol 19 cc2348-9
Mr. VERNEY

I beg to ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer a question of which I have given private notice, on a matter of urgency: whether his attention has been drawn to the following statement, reported from "The Times" of 26th July, as having been made by the hon. Member for Merthyr Tydvil (Mr. Keir Hardie), on the day before, at a meeting of the Cumberland Iron Ore Miners:— Last Friday the House of Commons agreed that £20,000 a year should be spent on looking after the drains of the Royal Palaces. They voted £50,000 more for putting the house of the Queen Mother in order. Fifty thousand pounds for a woman's house.

Mr. LLOYD GEORGE

My attention has been drawn to the newspaper report to which my hon. Friend refers, but I can hardly believe that it is correct in attributing to the hon. Member for Merthyr a statement so grossly inaccurate in fact, made about one whose position must command the sympathy of all, and should at least protect her from the annoyance of such rash and unfounded allegations. The true facts of the case are that the Select Committee on the Civil List recommended, in paragraph 11 of their Report, that this House should be asked to vote a special Grant of £55,000 in order to place Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace and Marlborough House in a condition fit for the occupation of Their Majesties the King and Queen and of Queen Alexandra. Only a very small proportion of this Grant is required in respect of Marlborough House.

Mr. KEIR HARDIE

As a matter of personal explanation, may I say that I withdraw at once the statement that £50,000 was to be spent in respect of the residence for the Queen Mother. The incident which led me into assuming that that sum would be spent was that in the Report of the Civil List Committee provision is made for spending £47,000 a year on internal and external repairs of Royal Palaces. I assumed that the extra £55,000 was required for a residence for the Queen Mother. We are now informed that this has to be spent on the ordinary Royal Palaces in addition to the £47,000 already arranged for, as I understand. I unreservedly withdraw that part of my statement which states that £50,000 was to be spent on the residence for the Queen Mother and not on Royal Palaces generally. May I just add that I should be sorry if any words of mine have given offence to the Royal lady.