Sir H. DALZIELI beg to ask the Leader of the House when the Dardanelles Royal Commission Report will be in the hands of Members, and will it be published without any omissions?
§ Mr. BONAR LAWThe Report will be laid on the Table to-day. It is in the hands of the printers, and will, I hope, be circulated to Members early next week. Some references affecting foreign relations have been omitted, but the Government have thought it right to send the Report without alteration confidentially to Mr. Speaker and to the Leaders of each of the political parties in the House.
Sir H. DALZIELMay I ask whether the Government are responsible for the omissions themselves, or did the omissions take place as the result of any representations from any foreign Government?
§ Mr. BONAR LAWWe had to communicate with foreign Governments with regard to some of them, and it was at their request that some of the alterations were made.
§ Sir W. ESSEXCan the right hon. Gentleman say if they will mark the special copies sent to the several political Leaders "confidential" so that they will not be allowed to communicate the contents to those who follow them ordinarily—why this preference?
§ Mr. BONAR LAWI quite admit it is a new precedent, but in this case the Government thought it right in order that it might be known that the alterations did not affect the substance of the Report and were not made in any way in the interests of anybody in this country.
§ Sir W. ESSEXDoes not the right hon. Gentleman see that that is practically shepherding the Members of the House into groups, the Leaders of which are chosen by himself?
§ Mr. BONAR LAWI quite admit there are objections to it, but we had to consider what we thought on the whole was the best course to adopt, and we think we have chosen it.
Sir H. DALZIELMay I ask whether it is a condition of those copies being issued to Leaders of the political parties in the House that they are to keep the Reports entirely to themselves, or are they to be at liberty to communicate the contents to any of their colleagues?
§ Mr. BONAR LAWThey will be sent to the Leaders of the political parties with a note informing them that they are confidential, and I think no further action is necessary.
§ Mr. PRINGLEIs it not the case that the Government are acting in breach of the statutory duty laid upon the Commission by Parliament, when the Commission was set up, of reporting to the House all the facts, and if the Government suppresses any portion of the Report they are acting in breach of the law as made by both Houses of Parliament?
§ Mr. BONAR LAWIt must be evident to the House that we could not put in anything affecting a foreign Government which that Government objected to. The only alternatives were to take the course we adopted or not to publish the Report at all.
§ Mr. LEIF JONESOn a point of Order. From the moment the Report is laid on the Table in dummy, has not any Member of the House the right to see the document, no matter in whose possession it is?
§ Mr. BONAR LAWThe document which will be circulated will be the document with the omissions I have indicated.
§ Mr. G. FABERAs this is causing much dissatisfaction, may I ask whether on second thoughts it would not be more in the public interest not to have the Report issued at all?
§ Mr. RENDALLMay I ask what are the political parties in this House?
§ Mr. JONESOn a point of Order. May I ask if the document to be laid on the Table is, in fact, the Report of the Commission at all? The right hon. Gentleman told us he was about to lay on the Table of the House in dummy the Report of the Commission. If he does that, is not any Member of the House entitled to see the Report of the Com- 2152 mission, and not an edited Report by somebody outside the Commission?
§ Mr. BONAR LAWNo.
§ Mr. SPEAKERThe Report which is laid on the Table of the House is, of course, open to Members of the House.
§ Mr. BONAR LAWI have already said it will be the Report with the omissions which I have already indicated.
§ Mr. RENDALLSo that we may know what the political parties are, will the right hon. Gentleman say who are the Leaders who are going to obtain copies of the Report?
Mr. SCOTTAs my hon. Friend the Member for East Edinburgh (Mr. Hogge) and my hon. Friend the Member for North-West Lanarkshire (Mr. Pringle) constitute a party by themselves, will they receive a copy?
§ Sir C. KINLOCH-COOKECan the right hon. Gentleman say how many copies he intends to distribute to the Leaders?