§ 51 and 52. Mr. GROVESasked the Attorney-General (1) whether he has given his consideration to the Report of the Public Prosecutor regarding the affairs of the St. Mary Steamship Company, Cardiff will he state whether he proposes to have the said Report laid upon the Table of the House; and, if not, will he state what other action he proposes to take in the matter;
(2) whether he has taken any action following upon the Report of the Public Prosecutor regarding the affairs of the St. Mary Steamship Company, Cardiff; and can he state whether any fresh evidence has since been submitted for his consideration by any of the shareholders of the said company?
§ The ATTORNEY-GENERAL (Sir Thomas Inskip)The hon. Member doubtless refers to the Report of the Inspector appointed by the Board of Trade to investigate the affairs of the company in question under Section 109 of the Companies (Consolidation) Act, 1908, and in this connection I would refer to the answers which I gave to questions addressed to me in this House on the 26th February, 1929, to the effect that after careful consideration of the farts disclosed at the inquiry, I had come to the conclusion that neither the public interest nor the interests of the shareholders would be served by any action which it was in my power to direct. I would add that the alleged offences occurred 12 years ago, and that no fresh evidence has been submitted which calls for reconsideration of the matter at the present time.
§ Mr. GROVESCan the proceedings of this inquiry be made public, or, if it is not desired to go to the expense of publishing them, can they be made available for examination by those who are interested?
§ The ATTORNEY-GENERALAs the inquiry took place under the Board of Trade by the Director of Public Prosecutions several years ago, and as the matter has been very fully investigated and a decision come to with great care, I suggest that no useful purpose would be served by publishing the report of the proceedings.
§ Mr. GROVESIf I submit evidence to the Attorney-General that a useful purpose would be served, will he consider it?
§ The ATTORNEY-GENERALI will consider it, but not gladly.