lection, that is a general question, and | tleman for giving me an opportunity of it cannot be allowed in that case any more than in the case of other income derived from real property. With respect to Schedule E, I do not think that that could be entertained, because the property subject to tithe-rent charge has always been treated as realty. With regard to the latter part of the Question, our experience under the Beer Act is not such as would lead us to entertain any proposal for altering the rating with regard to private brewers. SOUTH AFRICA-THE TRANSKEI WAR EXPENSES. SIR GEORGE CAMPBELL asked Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Whethe moneys advanced to the Cape Government, from the British Military Chest, for the expenses of Colonial Troops in the Trans-kei War, have yet been recovered? THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER (Mr. GLADSTONE) said, the Cape Government had invited the Colonial Department to provide the sum of £150,000 in respect of the claims of Her Majesty's Government on account of the sums advanced for the expenses of the Colony in the Transkei War; and that Correspondence relating to the subject was now being printed, and would be in the hands of Members shortly. SIR GEORGE CAMPBELL: Has Her Majesty's Government agreed to accept the sum of £150,000? THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER (Mr. GLADSTONE): What the Government would accept must sometimes depend on the merits of the case, and sometimes on what could be obtained. The hon. Member will, however, learn all the facts when he sees the Correspondence. making a statement on the subject. I received through the Foreign Office a letter from the Minister of the United States, dated the 31st of March, stating that it was the personal request of the President of the United States that the execution of Lamson should be suspended until certain evidence which had been collected and transmitted to the Attorney General of the United States should be forwarded for my consideration. In my opinion, it is the duty of the Secretary of State in such a case carefully to consider anything that may be adduced by any trustworthy authority from whatever quarter it may come, not with a view to revising the sentence or verdict, the responsibility for which rests solely with the Judge and jury, but in order to determine whether there are any grounds for recommending the exercise of the Prerogative of mercy by the Crown. When there has been any reliable evidence to that effect it has been the practice of the Secretary of State to order a respite until that evidence was duly examined. In the case of Mansell, in 1857, four successive respites, extending over a period of six months, were granted by Sir George Grey, at the end of which time the prisoner was executed. In the case of Michael Barrett, two successive respites were granted by Mr. Gathorne Hardy before the execution, in order that further inquiry might be made as to the facts. Acting, therefore, upon the principle of the precedents established in this grave matter-precedents which apply to evidence whether proceeding from abroad or obtained in this country-I have acceded to the request and directed a respite for a fortnight, until the 18th of April. This case has been and will be dealt with exactly as if a similar representation had been made upon reliable authority in England. In my opinion, it is a sound principle, which ought not to be departed from, that before the capital sentence is carried into execution all the evidence advanced subsequent to the trial should be duly considered. But the prisoner has been fully warned that the respite in these circumstances carries with it no implied presumption of a reprieve or commutation of the sentence. I will also, with the leave of the House, answer now the Question which the hon. Baronet (Sir Eardly Wilmot) gave Notice that he SIR JOHN HAY: I desire to ask the right hon. Gentleman the Prime Minister a Question, of which I have given him private Notice, with reference to the "count out" on Friday night. The House must be aware that on Friday night at half-past 9 o'clock, after three attempts, the House was counted out by an hon. Gentleman, an Irish Member. The subject under discussion was a subject very interesting to Scotch Members, of whom nearly half of the total were present, and attending to the discussion. The Question was being answered by the Lord Advocate for Scotland at the time in a very interesting statement, and I am sure if it had been the Home Secretary answering a Question raised by an English Member, or the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant answering an Irish Question, the House would not have been counted out under such circumstances. Therefore, I have to ask the Prime Minister, If his attention has been called to the "count out" on Friday night, while the Lord Advocate was making a statement on important Scotch Business; and whether he will endeavour to arrange in the future that, as Scotch Members are not very numerous, a House will be kept with Government assistance when Scotch Business is under discussion? the House had been sitting for six hours before this "count out." I regret it extremely, and I can only say that we shall continne to do our best to carry out what is an understanding-namely, that on Friday night the Government shall do its best to keep a House. PARLIAMENT BUSINESS OF THE Mr. LEWIS asked Mr. Attorney General, Whether the Corrupt Practices (Disfranchisement) Bill, which had only been delivered this morning, and which was on the Orders for the Day, would be proceeded with to-night? THE ATTORNEY GENERAL (Sir HENRY JAMES) said, there was no intention of doing so. second reading of the Bill, he would Mr. LEWIS gave Notice that, on the move as an Amendment "That, having regard to the evidence given into the existence of corrupt practices at the before the Commissioners appointed to inquire recent elections for the cities of Chester and Oxford, as to the proceedings of the President of the Local Government Board and the Secretary of State for the Home Department at such elections, this House declines to impose any penalties upon the constituencies or electors named in the Bill at the instance of Her Majesty's Government." CRIME (IRELAND)-MURDER OF MRS. H. M. SMYTHE. SIR EARDLEY WILMOT: In the absence of the Chief Secretary for Ireland, I wish to ask the Solicitor General for Ireland, Whether there is any truth in the statement in to-day's Morning Post that Mr. P. B. Smythe, who is known to and greatly esteemed by many in this House, was shot at yesterday in County Westmeath while returning from church, and that, although the shot did not take effect on himself, a lady in the carriage was seriously wounded? MR. GLADSTONE: Sir, perhaps I ought to say, at the outset, that I was not in the House on Friday night, not from pleasure or ceremony, but from a serious cause. The state of the case is THE SOLICITOR GENERAL FOR this-that my noble Friend near me IRELAND (Mr. PORTER): Sir, I regret (Lord Richard Grosvenor) really exerted very much to state that the report is to himself to the best of his ability, and a great extent true-that the facts are did contrive to keep 33 Members out of even worse than stated in the papers. those over whom alone he can be sup- A shot was fired at Mr. Smythe's carposed to exercise any influence. I ought riage; and I am sorry to add that also to say that it was not very wonder- the lady who was stated to have been ful that a thing of this kind should hap-wounded was unfortunately shot dead pen, because it should be observed that upon the spot. INDIA-BENGAL STAFF CORPS-CAP TAIN J. B. CHATTERTON. MR. GRANTHAM asked the Secretary of State for India, Whether, as he cannot grant any compensation to Captain Chatterton for the suffering caused by the delay in the treatment of his ankle joint owing to his being improperly ejected from hospital in India, he will advance to Captain Chatterton a further sum of £250, on security of his pay, to enable him to have proper surgical treatment, the former advance of a like sum having been duly repaid to the Government? PRECINTS OF THE HOUSE-THE HOME SECRETARY AND MR. ANDERSON. MR. CALLAN: Sir, I beg to give Notice that to-morrow I will ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his attention has been called to the statement which appeared in The Daily Express, a leading journal of Ireland, on Saturday last, to the effect that, after Mr. Anderson made his famous speech against the clôture, he (Sir William Harcourt) met him in THE MARQUESS OF HARTINGTON: the Lobby, and instantly attacked him, Without admitting the accuracy of the using words substantially to this effect preamble of the hon. Member's inquiry," You call yourself a Liberal Member I may state that Captain Chatterton's for a Scotch constituency. We shall see. request for a further advance nearly I have some friends in Glasgow. I shall equivalent to two years' pay has been not long since under the consideration of my Council, and it was decided not to comply with his application. I do not propose to reverse that decision. write to them and let them know how you support the Government. I shall ask them whether they approve your conduct;" and, further, I shall ask the Home Secretary whether that account of the conversation is correct? And, Mr. Speaker, as this is a matter affecting GIBRALTAR (RELIGIOUS DISSENSIONS) freedom of speech and the Privileges of -DR. CANILLA-THE PAPERS. SIR H. DRUMMOND WOLFF asked the Prime Minister, Whether he was aware that Papers with regard to Gibraltar were promised three weeks ago by the Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs; that they had not yet been produced; that Questions regarding them had been constantly asked, and that hon. Members asking them had always met with evasive answers? ["Order!"] Such conduct was disrespectful to the House, and almost amounted to a breach of faith. He wished to ask MR. SPEAKER: The hon. Member is entering into controversial matter, and he must know that ought never to be done in asking a Question. SIR H. DRUMMOND WOLFF: I only wish to ask the Prime Minister whether he will exert himself to obtain these Papers as quickly as possible? MR. GLADSTONE: I have no information on the subject, nor upon any other Departmental matter. I regret that the Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs is not now in the House, as, no doubt, he would have been able to answer the Question. SIR H. DRUMMOND WOLFF gave Notice that he would call attention to hon. Members- [Cries of "Order!"] SIR WILFRID LAWSON: I rise to Order. I wish to know, Sir, whether it is in Order to give Notice of a Question concerning a private conversation? MR. SPEAKER: If the hon. Member is founding a Question upon conversation which took place in the Lobby of the House, or in the Division Lobby within the precincts of the House, and not upon a matter in the House itself, he is not in Order in taking notice of it. MR. CALLAN: I should be sorry to found a Question on a conversation. I am founding it upon a report published in one of the leading journals in Ireland -The Daily Express-and I may ask, as this is a matter affecting the freedom of speech MR. SPEAKER: The hon. Member is indirectly founding himself upon a conversation within the precincts of the House. MR. HEALY: Mr. Speaker, I should like to ask you, upon a matter touching the Privileges of Members of this House, whether an hon. Member is not in Order in calling attention to language of a threatening character used by one hon. Member towards another while in the exercise of his Privileges as a Member of this House? MR. SPEAKER: As I understand the observations of the hon. Member for Louth, that is not the point raised by him. MR. CALLAN: Virtually and substantially it is the same. MR. ANDERSON: Sir, as this is a Question referring to me, perhaps the House will allow me to say that it is not asked at my instance nor on my behalf. I consider myself quite able to defend myself against the right hon. and learned Gentleman to maintain my own position and my own independence against the right hon. and learned Gentleman or anyone else, and I do not want any other Members to interfere on my behalf at any time. I have not the slightest idea how this matter got into the Press. I never was aware that it was published till five minutes ago, when the hon. Member brought me a cutting from a newspaper, and asked me about it. I do not know how it got there. I begged the hon. Member not to ask any Question about it, because, as I said, very likely the right hon. and learned Gentleman thought he was only giving me a little friendly advice. House that this matter should be entered into, I have not the slightest objection to state what occurred, so far as I recollect. I met my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow in the Lobby. I had, as I thought, a very friendly conversation with him. That was in the Lobby. I was perfectly aware that he did not agree with me upon the subject of the clôture, and I said to him-" Well, it seems odd. That is quite a different impression from the one I derived when I was at Glasgow with you last October." I expressed my views as to the opinion of the people in Glasgow. As to the use of any language that can be by any perversion described as threatening the hon. Member for Glasgow, that I deny. PROTECTION OF PERSON AND PRO- hon. and learned Gentleman the Solicitor MR. O'DONNELL: I desire to ask the MR. CALLAN: Now, Sir-— SIR WILLIAM HARCOURT: Perhaps I may-MR. CALLAN: I beg the right hon.ceived no proper trial? In explanation and learned Gentleman's pardon. I have not finished my Question. This is a matter affecting freedom of speech and the liberty of action of Members of this House. It, therefore, concerns our Privileges generally as Members. As the facts are within his own knowledge, perhaps the right hon. and learned Gen tleman will at once answer the Question without consultation with his Colleagues. MR. MITCHELL HENRY: I beg to give Notice that if this system of eavesdropping and making communications to the newspapers of matters which have occurred in private conversation between hon. Members in different parts of the House is continued, especially by the Members of the House who themselves communicate with the newspapers, I shall move that the Lobby be entirely cleared of strangers during the Sitting of the House. of the urgency which induces me to put the Question without Notice, I shall read the following telegram just received by the hon. Member for New Ross (Mr. Redmond), from San Francisco, where The telegram is from Mr. T. P. O'Conthis matter is attracting deep attention. nor, M.P., who saysGen-nor, "Sister ought to be sent to infirmary. Suffering last two years from ill-health, which incurable." cold of cell would make torture, and perhaps I hope the political views of the hon. and learned Gentleman will not prevent him giving this matter attention. THE SOLICITOR GENERAL FOR IRELAND (Mr. PORTER) desired that He had no information of the state of PRISONS (IRELAND) — OUTBREAK OF FEVER IN CLONMEL PRISON. MR. HEALY asked the Solicitor this subject. If it is the pleasure of the General for Ireland, Whether he could SIR WILLIAM HARCOURT: I may, perhaps, be allowed to say a word upon THE MARQUESS OF HARTINGTON : Sir, I have very carefully considered in Council such representations as I have received on the subject, and have arrived at the decision that the resolution re ferred to, so far as it equalizes the salaries of the Puisne Judges of all the High Courts, should be enforced-that is to say, that the Puisne Judges hereafter appointed to the Calcutta High Court shall not in future receive larger salaries than the Puisne Judges of the Bombay and other High Courts. There is, however, a small question still unsettled as to the precise amount at which the salaries of all Puisne Judges are to be fixed. Mr. Healy SECOND READING. Order for Second Reading read. THE JUDGE ADVOCATE GENERAL (Mr. OSBORNE MORGAN), in moving that the Bill be now read a second time, said, he rose for the purpose of explaining certain of its provisions which were necessary to correct some clerical errors which had crept into the Army Act of last Session, owing to the fact that one of two Acts, which it consolidated, not having left that House-in consequence of the system of "blocking" persistently applied to it-until within a very few days of the Prorogation; so that only three days were left for the printing and circulating of the Bill, and passing it through all its stages. That Act was a Consolidating Act, and the most important of the Amendments now proposed was contained in Clause 5 of this Bill. By the 86th section of the Army Discipline Act, following the old Mutiny dier of the Regular Forces was disAct, it was provided that where a solcharged or transferred to the Reserve in the United Kingdom, he should be entitled to be sent at the public expense to the place where he was attested. A question had been raised as to the operation of that section, and, in order to remove all doubt on the point, it was proposed by the clause to confine the right of a Regular soldier, on his disattestation, provided that place were in charge, to be sent to the place of his the United Kingdom. Such a right could not fairly be claimed where the place of attestation was, say, India or Canada. If the opposition to the Bill, of which the hon. Member for Sligo (Mr. Sexton) had given Notice, were successful, the Army would be disbanded altogether, a result that would hardly commend itself to the House, however much hon. Members from Ireland desired it. The right hon. and learned Member concluded by moving the second reading of the Bill. Motion made, and Question proposed, "That the Bill be now read a second time."(The Judge Advocate General.) |