§ 57. Mr. DILLONasked the Prime Minister whether he can now give a day for the discussion of the Motion in reference to the Irish political prisoners standing in the name of the Member for East Mayo: ["That the time has come when all untried prisoners detained in connection with the Irish insurrection should be released, and that all the Irish prisoners convicted of complicity in that insurrection should, in accordance with the modern practice of civilised States, be treated as political prisoners"?]
§ The PRIME MINISTER (Mr. Asquith)I hope to communicate with my hon. Friend on this matter almost immediately. If he then still wishes to debate this matter I will certainly endeavour to provide facilities.
§ Mr. DILLONThis question has been postponed five times. What day shall I say for it?
§ The PRIME MINISTERMy hon. Friend need not put it again. I hope to communicate with him on the matter.
§ Mr. DILLONI beg to ask the Home Secretary a question to which I think he can reply without notice, namely, whether his attention has been called to the refusal of the Governor of Frongoch Camp to allow reporters to be present at the court-martial held on Irish prisoners on Saturday, and whether the Governor stated that this refusal was based on express instructions received from the Home Office, and whether that statement was well founded, and whether the court-martial was obliged to adjourn its proceedings to a locality outside the precincts of the camp in order to comply with the law regarding that it should be an open Court, and whether he will give immediate directions to the Governor to allow the court-martial to sit as an open Court in the precincts of the camp?
§ The SECRETARY of STATE for the HOME DEPARTMENT (Mr. Herbert Samuel)As the hon. Member has stated, I received no notice of this question. I know nothing of the procedure of this court-martial, which is held under military law, and the matter is one, I think, for the decision of the War Office. I am not aware that any instructions were given by the Home Office in respect of the admission of reporters. The matter did not come before me personally, but I will at once make inquiries to see exactly how the matter stands.