§ 44. Lord ROBERT CECILasked the Home Secretary whether he will lay upon the Table of the House a copy of the complaint which he has made to the Royal College of Surgeons against Sir Victor Horsley?
§ Mr. MCKENNAPersonally I should have no objection to laying upon the Table of the House a copy of my communication to the Royal College of Surgeons, but, as I have said, it is a matter for their discretion whether or not it should be communicated to Sir Victor Horsley or made public.
§ Lord ROBERT CECILMay I ask why this is a matter within the discretion of the Royal College of Surgeons, since the complaint emanated from the right hon. Gentleman himself; and whether he can refer me to any precedent of a complaint being made by a Government Department against a professional authority which has not been communicated to the person indicated?
§ Mr. MCKENNAAll the facts, I assume, have already been communicated to Sir Victor Horsley by the Royal College of Surgeons.
§ Lord ROBERT CECILIn what terms?
§ Mr. MCKENNAThe facts, as I explained in a previous answer, were already known to Sir Victor Horsley, and the complaint, as it is called, contained no new charge, nor any charge at all against Sir Victor Horsley. What has happened is this: Sir Victor Horsley made certain complaints against several members of the Royal College of Surgeons, and I, in this House, denied the justice of those complaints, and I have forwarded Sir Victor 1773 Horsley's charges, with the documents which I quoted in my answer given in this House.
§ Lord ROBERT CECILWhy should that be done?
§ Mr. MCKENNAHaving sent the correspondence and the statements to the Royal College of Surgeons, surely it is within their province to decide whether they will make them public or not. I have merely called their attention to the documents and the statements, every one of which has already been published.