The SECRETARY for SCOTLAND (Mr. McKinnon Wood)Mr. Speaker, with your permission, I desire to offer a very brief personal explanation as to an incident which occurred at Question Time yesterday. The hon. and gallant Member for North Aberdeen made a charge against me which amounted to an accusation of neglect of duty and discourtesy to the House. He said:—
May I ask this question on behalf of my hon. Friend? The Secretary for Scotland is nut here. He is absent, as usual; playing golf, I suppose.Of course, I am not accused of any serious offence. The question put yesterday by the hon. and gallant Member for North Aberdeen was not one standing in his name. It stood in the name of my hon. Friend the Member for the College Division of Glasgow (Mr. Watt). A question covering exactly the same point was on the Paper in the name of my hon. Friend the Member for the Bridgeton Division of Glasgow (Mr. MacCallum Scott), and was answered by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister. On Tuesday an arrangement was made between my hon. Friend the Member for the Bridgeton Division and my Parliamentary private secretary that his question would not be asked yesterday. As, therefore, I had no question to answer I arranged for a conference at three o'clock on matters of very great importance to Scottish business. I am bound to say that that arrangement was faithfully observed by my hon. Friend the Member for the College Division. Why the hon. and gallant Member for North Aberdeen interfered in the matter it is not for me to say, but I think that it is for him to explain what justification he had for saying that he asked the question on behalf of my hon. Friend the Member for the College Division. The hon. and gallant Gentleman's suggestion as to the reason of my 2143 absence from the Chamber is without foundation. I was actually in the House engaged in the manner which I have stated.
§ Mr. PIRIEIt is a well-known matter of everyday occurrence for a colleague to ask questions for another colleague—[HON. MEMBERS "No!"]—more especially so when it is understood that colleagues who represent different constituencies in Scotland often ask each other's questions. But that is a general matter. Apart from that, the right hon. Gentleman has a Parliamentary secretary who might, in the ordinary course of events, have informed you, Mr. Speaker, that the question was postponed, and that it should not appear on the Paper. However, I am very glad that the interjection has attracted the right hon. Gentleman's attention, and I withdraw the suggestion that he was playing golf. However, I do feel entitled to justify to a certain extent the supposition which I made as to the right hon. Gentleman's whereabouts, owing to a much more serious incident connected with the right hon. Gentleman.
§ Mr. SPEAKERI do not think that we can go into past history.
§ Mr. PIRIEIn a sentence, I want to justify, to a certain extent, my interjection by saying that on a recent occasion when the presence of the right hon. Gentleman was important in reference to the case of the Lewis crofters when I charged him with playing golf he never denied it, and those eleven crofters were three days more in prison owing to the Secretary for Scotland not being in the House.
§ Mr. SPEAKERIn consequence of what has fallen from the hon. Member, I may remind the House that hon. Members are not entitled to put questions standing in the name of colleagues unless they have obtained their authority to do so.