HL Deb 02 July 1918 vol 30 cc495-7
VISCOUNT MIDLETON

My Lords, I beg to ask the noble Earl the Leader of the House a Question of which I have given him private notice. It will be within the recollection of your Lordships that on Thursday last a debate took place on questions connected with Ireland, and that although the House sat at 3.30 p.m and the debate continued for several. hours, nine or ten Peers taking part, no reply was forthcoming on the part of the Government until my noble friend Lord Mayo intimated that it would be necessary to move the adjournment. Thereupon Lord Crawford intervened in a few sentences, but I think your Lordships who were present will realise that some very important questions were left over on which no reply was made. Of course, I do not venture on a private notice question to argue any point, but I merely mention the subject of the supply of land for soldiers, on which the Government were pressed by many peers. No answer was given with regard to that, but there was a point which I understood the noble Earl to have reserved. On the first day of the discussion Lord Curzon said, with regard to whether the Government intended to proclaim the Sinn Fein Association— I should not like to answer that question without a further reference. This led many of your Lordships to infer that we should have the advantage of hearing the decision of the Government on that question when the debate was resumed after a week's adjournment. I would only say that those who listened to the discussion must have felt what very grave importance attaches to this question, and I would invite the noble Earl, if he can, to supplement the information which we have received.

THE LORD PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL (EARL CURZON OF KEDLESTON)

My Lords, when I used the language which the noble Viscount has quoted, I did not mean to reserve the point in the sense in which he has used the term. I meant that the question was of so much importance thatnaturally I could not answer it without reference to those responsible for the Irish Government. The noble Viscount has asked whether I have any statement to make or any further information to give upon the subject to-day. I am afraid I can say no more than this—that the matter, which of course is of the highest importance, is engaging the earnest attention of the Government, but that it would be contrary to the public interest to say anything more about it at this moment.

THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURY

My Lords, the noble Earl has replied to the Question of my noble friend, but I am not sure that we have got very much from the answer. It is a matter of a very urgent and important kind, and I am afraid your Lordships will feel that the Government have hardly shown a full sense of the great importance of the debate which took place on Thursday last. I know that my noble friend the noble Earl was absent from his place, for very good reasons, for which none of us would complain, but it is a very striking circumstance that there was no Minister who was in a position to reply upon the debate on Thursday last. I am sure that if the noble Earl himself had been present he would have felt that your Lordships had some reason to complain of treatment of that kind. We heard at the end of the debate a few words from Lord Crawford, and I need not say that we all listened to hint with the greatest possible pleasure. There is no man better qualified than he is to make an admirable speech in your Lordships' House, but on that occasion it was evident that he was not prepared to speak. He had not the materials with which to reply, and although we are willing and anxious to show all the sympathy we can to the noble Earl (Lord Curzon) in the heavy work which falls upon him, we think that in a debate of that kind, if he cannot be here himself, some other Minister should be present to answer the points which fall from your Lordships. We hope that on another occasion things may be differently arranged.

EARL CURZON OF KEDLESTON

On the afternoon to which the noble Marquess refers there was a general feeling, I believe, that the discussion was likely to last throughout the evening. I was myself, as the noble Marquess has justly and generously remarked, engaged upon public business of importance which prevented me from being present in the earlier afternoon, and one of the chief losses which I thereby sustained was that I missed a speech made by my noble, friend Lord Salisbury. I did come to the House at seven o'clock with a view to answering any questions specially addressed to me, but as I entered the House I found Lord Crawford dealing with the case so much to the general acceptance of the House that I took refuge in silence. I hope, that upon another occasion I may be able to meet the requirements of the noble Marquess better than I did last week.