QUESTION OF PRIVILEGE. (Hansard, 31 July 1911)

§ Colonel LOCKWOOD
Every Member of the House, in whatever quarter of the House he sits, is aware that you, Mr. Speaker, are the freely chosen Speaker of this House, and as such are the guardian of its honour and its privileges, and that you are always ready to guard that honour and those privileges when called upon. 35 Mr. Speaker, I wish to draw your attention to a letter purporting to have been written by the hon. Member for the Attercliffe Division of Sheffield (Mr. Pointer) to the "Sheffield Guardian." I took the first possible means of communicating with the hon. Member by sending him a telegram to this House, telling him I was going to raise this question, and trusting that it would be convenient for him to be present. The letter is as follows:— Where was the Speaker? He was there all right; but, to his shame be it said, he utterly failed to curb the wild spirits of the neurotic Tories responsible for the uproar. To fail, of course, docs not necessarily mean disgrace: but in this case it does, because his failure was the outcome of a violent party leaning. Had the Labour members, or the Irish members, or even the Liberal members started the row it would not have developed. Before we had proceeded far one or more of those responsible would have been named, and the Serjeant-at-Arms would have been asked to remove them from the House. It was a pitiable fall. For the most part he seems to have been a great success as a Speaker, and in the main has upheld the dignity of debate. But that circumstance only made his failure on Monday the more miserable and pitiable. I am sorry to have to say this of the genial Speaker, but truth and fairness demand I shall say so, and truth will out though the devil says 'No.' Therefore, in accordance with Parliamentary procedure, I beg to move:—"That the letter of the hon. Member for the Attercliffe Division of Sheffield constitutes a libel on Mr. Speaker, and is a gross breach of the privileges of this House."

§ Mr. SPEAKER
Before I put this to the House, as I see the hon. Member present, I will give him an opportunity, if he wishes, to say anything with regard to the matter.

Mr. POINTER
The hon. and gallant Gentleman who has just sat down announced to the House in his statement that he had sent me word at the earliest possible moment. I received that word five minutes' ago. Consequently I have not had time to consider what my action should be in the event of such a Motion being brought forward. As far as I am concerned, I perhaps ought to explain one thing which may put me right with the House, before I approach the gravamen of the charge made against me. What I meant to explain is this: I have not either in this case or any other gone deliberately out of my way to make an attack upon you, Mr. Speaker. But the words complained of formed part and parcel of a letter which was one of my usual weekly letters to my constituents. The main part of the letter dealt with the affairs and the incidents which happened 36 here on Monday last. In the course of my statement I had a good deal to say, and it appeared to me that I ought to give my constituents my views on what I saw and heard, and on the part played by yourself, Sir. I may legitimately claim that what the Speaker does in this House in regard to the course of public business ought to be matter of fair comment by a Member of this House in making statements to his constituents. Therefore, what I meant to emphasise is this, that the main part of the letter to which objection has been taken relates to the uproar which took place last Monday, and the references to yourself, Sir, are only incidental thereto; but, in so far as I characterised them, my words, which were strong, conveyed my meaning emphatically. I have nothing to add, and nothing to explain away in connection with the fact that certain hon. Members opposite repeatedly and persistently shouted at the top of their voices certain words which were disorderly and insulting, and I felt very strongly at the time that Mr. Speaker ought to have taken action. When I wrote the letter in question I attributed your inaction to party partiality. I ought not to have done so. In the whole of my experience in this House I had been impressed by your impartiality, Sir, and when I sent my letter I ought to have allowed that experience to weigh more with me before coming to the conclusion I did. Without withdrawing any other part of the letter, I unreservedly withdraw-that and that alone which charges you, Sir, with having taken a partisan view of the matter, which, after all, was one of judgment, and I apologise to you and to the House for having written it.

§ Colonel LOCKWOOD
I sent the hon. Member a telegram.

Mr. POINTER
That apology, Mr. Speaker, I offer to you, and I want to make that apology as fully and as freely as I possibly can in so far as relates to my statement that your action had reference to party partiality. Certain facts, I may say, have been brought to my notice since, which, if I had known them before, would have made it perfectly impossible for me to have written the statement. I may say that when I saw by the papers that this question was likely to be brought up, I fully intended to stick to my guns until these further facts came to my knowledge and altered my position. Therefore, I ask you, Sir, to accept my apology with regard to the words complained of.

§ Mr. SPEAKER
I am very ready to accept the apology so frankly and freely made. I am sure that I am the last person in the world to complain of any fair comment, and I do not complain of any fail-comment; but I did feel that the imputation of motive which the hon. Member had cast upon me did not quite come within that category. I think the hon. Member has been long enough in the House to see what a very difficult position the Speaker has at times to fill. I use the best of my judgment in dealing with circumstances as they arise. I do not say I may not have been wrong. Very likely I may have been wrong many times in judgments I have given; hut I am perfectly confident that my judgment has never for one instant been biassed by any sense of partiality. Under the circumstances I hope that the right hon. Gentleman will not desire me to put the Motion.

§ Colonel LOCKWOOD
I beg leave to withdraw the Motion.