§ Sir R. COOPER by Private Noticeasked the Prime Minister which Minister gave instructions to the Government officials who raided the central office of the National party yesterday afternoon; are the seven federation offices of the party being raided to-day; is he aware that a statement was made in the Debate in this House on Monday that the information relating to the right hon. Member for East Worcestershire was sent anonymously to a member of the party; under these circumstances will he state the grounds on which the raid was ordered?
§ Mr. MACPHERSONNo Minister gave any instructions, as Parliament has vested 1060 these powers in the competent military authority, whose duty it is to take the necessary action. None of the branch offices of the party are being visited. The action taken by the military authority cannot be accurately described as a raid. It was found that the documents read by my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Christchurch, which were contained in a secret file in the War Office, had been specially marked, apparently in order that they might be copied. It was obviously of the utmost importance that the official or officials who had been guilty of abstracting official documents should be discovered. It was thought that an examination of the copies might throw light on this point, and an officer called on the secretary of the National party, to which the papers had been sent, to ask for these copies. The secretary informed this officer that the documents were not in his possession, and, without any objection on the part of the secretary and with his assistance, the receipt book was examined to see if there was any record of their receipt.
§ Sir R. COOPERIs the right hon. Gentleman not aware that the only documents connected with this matter were in the possession of my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Christchurch in this House on Monday when he spoke, and is he satisfied now, after the inquiries that were made through the officials of the War Office yesterday, that the members of the National party have done nothing beyond what was openly admitted to obtain sight or knowledge of any private documents?
§ Mr. MACPHERSONI am quite satisfied that the statement made by the hon. and gallant Member for Christchurch was accurate, but I think it was the duty of the competent military authorities to make every possible investigation. I think it was their bounden duty to at once visit the central offices of the National party and make all possible inquiries, and I have no doubt that the documents in the possession of the hon. and gallant Member for Christchurch will be sent to the War Office for this purpose.
§ Sir R. COOPERI will undertake to communicate that to my hon. and gallant Friend.
§ Commander BELLAIRSWhy could not the hon. Gentleman have applied to the hon. and gallant Member for Christchurch for the copy, without putting the National party under the indignity of what is equivalent to a raid?
§ Mr. MACPHERSONI, of course, did not know, nor did the Minister know, but the competent military authority thought that this was the proper thing to do, and I agreed with them. They went to the central offices of the party, and I think that the House will agree that it was a very proper action to take.