§ 1. Mr. Hector Hughesasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will state the number and nature of the crimes and misdemeanours, respectively, giving sexes and ages, which have been committed in Malta during each of the last ten years, distinguishing those which were from those which were not of a political character.
§ The Secretary of State for the Colonies (Mr. Iain Macleod)This information is contained in Section 17 of the Statistical Abstract of the Maltese Islands, copies of which have been placed in the Library. The available statistics do not distinguish age or sex and there is no special category of prosecutions of a political character.
§ Mr. HughesDoes the right hon. Gentleman realise that that is a very generalised type of reply? Would he agree that most of the crimes committed in Malta arise not from turpitude but from the discontents of a people desiring democratic self-government, and will he take steps to remove those discontents so that such offences will be diminished or, perhaps, abolished altogether?
§ Mr. MacleodI do not think that I would agree with that analysis. We have, of course, put forward our proposals for the future constitutional provision, but if the hon. and learned Member will study the table I think he will see that it is not possible to create a special category of political offences and that the statistics given are as full as possible.