THE MESOPOTAMIA PAPERS. (Hansard, 13 July 1916)

§ VISCOUNT MIDLETON
My Lords, I am really sorry again to return to the question of the Mesopotamia Papers, but there is the most serious feeling in both Houses of Parliament that the question of the laying of these Papers should now be finally settled. I am the last person to suggest, especially with regard to the noble Marquess opposite (Lord Crewe), that every word that has been said about these papers has not been said in good faith. But they have been promised over and over again, and I cannot help saying that all of us who have had experience—and there are many in this House—of the laying of Parliamentary Papers are astonished that at the last moment, on questions of 725 so very vital an order, difficulties should have arisen with regard to publication, which, if they were to arise, at all, unquestionably ought to have arisen and been faced many weeks ago. Meantime Parliament has put off the discussion of really serious evils which have been going on until quite recently in Mesopotamia, in the hope that they would have official information on which to discuss the whole question.
What I put to the noble Marquess is this. I understand that he is not in a position to give a definite answer, as he had hoped, this afternoon. But might we be told clearly, when he makes the statement, first, whether the Government can lay the Papers or not, and, if not, whether they cannot lay such portions of the Papers as refer to the failure of the supply of transport, hospitals, and the like, leaving all questions of policy and all the military questions out of the Papers, if their publication is judged to be detrimental to the interests of the country. I would urge on the noble Marquess that he should not next week ask us again to defer our observations to a later date. We desire to have the opportunity, not of putting the Government in a difficulty, but of controlling what is going on at this moment and endeavouring to see that the supplies which ought to have been given to the troops are now given, even if they have not been given before. We are in a position to bring forward evidence that much is going on of which we as Englishmen are heartily ashamed, in view of the climatic conditions there and the difficulties under which our troops labour. We were encouraged to hope that we could discuss this by the middle of June. We are now in the middle of July, and to-day your Lordships adjourn for five more days. Every day is vital; and even on Tuesday we shall probably be told that a further adjournment is necessary. I would ask the noble Marquess, if the Government cannot issue Papers on Tuesday, to tell us—I ask it in the public interest—whether there cannot be at once an Inquiry which may satisfy themselves and the public that all precautionary measures have been taken.

THE DUKE OF SOMERSET
My Lords, I had the opportunity this morning of reading three or four very long letters from officers who have been serving in Mesopotamia, and I can assure your Lordships that 726 the cruelties which our men have suffered through the utter incompetence of the authorities both in India and here are simply too disgraceful. We all know what the Belgians suffered; we know what our own men suffered who were taken prisoners at the beginning of the war by the Germans—Germans are savages and nothing else was to be expected from them—but our men have suffered even worse from the brutality of the way things have been managed in Mesopotamia. What they have suffered is perfectly indescribable, and it makes one hardly able to speak of it. In one case a thousand wounded soldiers were sent down in a ship with only one medical officer and one orderly to look after the lot of them. They were all mixed up together, officers, men, and native soldiers, men with dysentery and men with shattered limbs, and there was not a drop of morphia or of chloroform in the whole ship. One officer never had his wound dressed from the time he was picked up until he got to Bombay. There are hundreds of other instances I could give, but I have been asked not to speak further on the subject because there is going to be a debate. I can assure your Lordships that it is the most disgraceful thing I have ever read. Who is to blame, God knows. There must be somebody to blame. And as for India, I think the person in command of the troops there is terribly to blame, from what I can hear.

THE LORD PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL (THE MARQUESS OF CREWE)
My Lords, since the noble Viscount opposite last raised this question I have been in consultation with more than one of my colleagues in regard to it. I must thank the noble Viscount for having acquitted me of any desire for, or indeed even of any toleration of, undue procrastination or delay in this most important matter. It is evident from what fell from my noble friend who has just sat down that the feelings of many, both in this House and out of it, are deeply stirred by what they have heard. As the noble Viscount anticipated, I am not able to make any statement to-day beyond this—that as the result of my conversations with my colleagues I understand that the Prime Minister will make a statement in another place regarding Papers on Tuesday, and I would ask noble Lords to allow me to make one on the same day. The Prime Minister's statement, and mine, will also apply to another subject which, although it has not aroused so much interest 727 here as has the question of Mesopotamia, has excited marked interest in another place—namely, the question of the presentation of Papers with regard to the Dardanelles operations. I have noted the point which was made by my noble friend opposite (Lord Midleton) as to the possibility of drawing a distinction between Papers dealing with military operations which may in certain cases be regarded as dangerous to publish—more especially in cases where operations in the neighbourhood are not entirely concluded—and Papers dealing with questions of supply, transport, and the medical service. I will inquire whether it is possible to draw such a distinction. I must beg, however, to be excused from entering on the subject further to-day; and I hope that my noble friend, who I fully admit has shown all possible patience in the matter, will be content to wait until we are able to speak on Tuesday.

§ THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURY
My Lords, we should, of course, not dream of pressing the noble Marquess further this evening. But I think we ought to say, in order that your Lordships should not be under a misapprehension, that even if the Government find they cannot present Papers—which I think would be deplorable—on Tuesday, we can hold out no hope that the debate will be avoided.

§ VISCOUNT MIDLETON
Hear, hear.

§ THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURY
There is a stage when public opinion gets to such a point that debate is really inevitable, and any one who listened to the noble Duke behind me just now will see the kind of thing which is being said far and wide and being felt throughout the country. I should like to add, in order to emphasise the point, that one of the circumstances to which my noble friend behind me, Lord Midleton, just now alluded took place as late as May 7 last, so that it is not old history, but a continuing evil. These things may turn out not to be true. I should be very sorry to endorse them. But the Government must face the fact that unless they are willing to come into the open and tell us the facts, these sort of things will go on being said and do infinite harm. If they are true, the sooner the matter is dealt with the better, so that severe measures can be dealt out to those responsible and steps taken to ensure that they will never occur again. It is not by way of any threat that I say this. But I do not wish the Government or your Lordships to be under the misapprehension that, if Papers cannot be presented, the debate will not take place. I am afraid the debate will have to go on notwithstanding.