§ Mr. RONALD McNEILLMay I ask your ruling, Sir, upon a point of Order. In the OFFICIAL REPORT for yesterday, column 1691, there appears an answer to a question put to the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs by the hon. and gallant Gentleman opposite (Lieut.-Colonel Malone). It refers to a report of Count de Salis, in relation to alleged atrocities committed by the Serbians in Montenegro. The hon. and gallant Gentleman, at the end of his reply, said:
I cannot divulge the contents of Count de Salis' confidential report; but I may say at once that I have reason to know that, in Count de Salis' opinion, the majority of the people in Montenegro prefer fusion with Jugo-Slavia to autonomy under a separate kingdom." [OFFICIAL REPORT, 25th February, 1920, Col. 1691, Vol. 125.]That statement of opinion, without any source being given by the hon. and gallant Gentleman, is in disagreement with the statement made by the Leader of the House in debate on the 12th inst., and it is also in conflict with opinions which I know have been attributed to Count de Salis. I desire to ask whether, in justice to Count de Salis, and also to the hon. and gallant Gentleman himself, in order to enable him to substantiate this alleged opinion, it is not now incumbent upon him to justify himself by producing the report?
§ Mr. SPEAKERIt is not altogether a question for me to decide. The only point on which (in a question of this character) the decision of the Chair is usually invoked is as to whether or not a particular sentence or two has been quoted from an official document. If that be so, and the Minister is called upon by this House to produce that official document, he must do so in full. At the same time, it has always been the practice of the House to allow a Minister to summarise a report in his own words. I cannot go so far as the hon. Gentleman wishes me to do. That is all I can say.
§ Mr. McNEILLWhen a Minister purports to summarise a report, and there is reason to believe it is incorrectly summarised, is there no way by which the 1921 House can compel that Minister to justify his statement?
§ Mr. SPEAKERI suppose there is always a means for the House to obtain what it desires. One obvious course to take is to put down a Motion for a Tuesday or a Wednesday to call upon the Government to produce the report. If the House assent to that course, it would be necessary for the Minister to produce the report.