§ Mr. HORE-BELISHAOn a point of Order. I desire to call your attention, Mr. Speaker, to a matter on which I have previously sought your guidance. Questions Nos. 100 and 101 were put down on the Order Paper by me and addressed to the Prime Minister. Had I desired to address them to the First Lord of the Admiralty, I should have chosen a day on which the First Lord of the Admiralty answers questions. Both these questions relate to a subject on which the Prime Minister made an announcement in America, and I submit that it is the right of any Member of this House to elicit information from the Minister from whom he desires to have that information, and not from the Minister from whom the Clerks at the Table think that he ought to get it. I happened to see the Clerk at the Table at his own request about one of these questions, and he made no suggestion to me that my questions should have been addressed elsewhere than to the Prime 614 Minister. Had the Prime Minister himself not desired to answer these questions, he would, with his usual courtesy, have sent me a note to that effect, or instructed some Minister to answer them on this day. As it is, I have been deprived of the opportunity which I sought, and I shall be grateful if you will instruct the Clerks at the Table not to make these alterations without being courteous enough to consult the Members concerned.
§ Commander BELLAIRSWith regard to these questions, they are obviously dockyard questions. If any hon. Member wishes to get an advantage, he has only to put down a question to the Prime Minister, and it is bound to come on at Question No. 45, which is very unfair to other Members.
§ Mr. SPEAKERI hope that the hon. Member for Devonport (Mr. Hore-Belisha) will not attach any blame to the action of the Clerks at the Table, who are absolutely blameless in this respect. The rule is that questions should be addressed to the Department with which they are concerned, and, though I would not venture to dictate to the Departments what they should do, it would be convenient if they would give notice to the Member that his question should be transferred to another Department. I think that would remove any grievance that the hon. Member may have on this particular question.
§ Mr. HORE-BELISHAI entirely concur, and I am very much obliged to you, Mr. Speaker. I was endeavouring to point out to you that I had not had a notice either from the Prime Minister's Department or from the Clerks at the Table. I am certain, had the Prime Minister desired the First Lord of the Admiralty to answer these questions, he would, in the usual manner, have sent me that notice, but the Clerk at the Table, who spoke to me upon these particular questions, made no reference to the fact that they were addressed to the wrong Department. I entirely concur in what you say, and I am very much obliged for it.
§ Mr. TOOLEOn a point of Order. Would it not have been better, in view of the fact that the Clerks at the Table are unable to defend themselves, that 615 this matter should have been raised privately with you, Mr. Speaker, instead of being put publicly?