BRITISH PARLIAMENT.

Hokitika Guardian, 20 March 1928, Page 3

BRITISH PARLIAMENT.

(Australian Press Association it Sun.) QUESTIONS IN COMMONS. •Jl/wci ved this day at 3.30 a.in.) LONDON, March 1 !J. In the Commons, lion W. C. Bridgeman informed a questioner that just a.s the fleet was due to sail on .March 10th. Captain Dewar and Commander i Daniels handed written statement to Rear-Admiral Collard. referring to the difference between him and them. The departure was postponed lor fifteen hours for an inquiry, the Court consisting of the Admiral and two Hear- C Admirals. 1 Admiral Keys proposed that Admiral a Collard transfer his flag to the resolu- 1 tiinn, but for personal reasons Admiral e Collard desired to leave immediately, u Dewar and Daniels were relieved ol n thei jiositions and directed to return ) to England. " The Admiralty had asked for a. re- h port from the Court, hut the Commnn- p der-in-Chief hud replied that it was f impossible to telegraph a. summary o which might be misinterpreted. Until t the report was received the Admiralty k was not in the position to make a do- t< finite statement. Dewar and Daniels arrived in London on Thursday and sent a letter requesting reinstatement to the Ro\al Oak or alternatively a trial by courtmartial. The Admiralty concurred in the Lorn- si ma-nder-in-Chief’s action. Admiral Col- n lard was returning to England and ( certain important issues remained o which the Admiralty, in the best in- 8 tersts of tlie Servee, bad decided .should tl be investigated by a court martial to si be held at Gibraltar as soon as pos- H si bio. Pressed for information as to the ox- S act nature of the serious trouble, Hon a W. C. Bridgman said: “I cannot give w it without prejudicing the court mar- " tial. L am sure the House will agree U that justice and fair play will he done tl to the officers. I therefore hope it <l> will not press for details.’’ Asked if he did not think the present practice created suspicion and false rumours Hon Bridgman replied, he did not want to create suspicion, but would take the blame of with-hokl- t:: ing further details. He said the offi- * <J cers could l>o represented by King’s I* l Counsel at the court martial. sl Hon Amery in reply to a question, 1,1 said Ibu Baud did not avail himself of the several opportunities to meet to the British representative. Britain l n was again suggesting a consultation ** to clear tip tho whole Arabian situa- '*- 1 tion. h' cc IN THE COMMONS. LONDON, .March 19. Mr Ramsay MacDonald, in the Commons, moved for an Inquiry Hoard into the revelations concerning the Zino vieff letter. He demanded the inquiry to be empowered to take evidence on oath. 0 were two aspects of the letter, la he said, first a Eoreign Office document; secondly, what was now admitted to he a political I rand, which in cool calculation and preparation was unmatched in British history. He said his decision for the general publication 1was made to protect the Eoreign Office M 1 from a political attack which it was *>< known the “Daily Mail” was making tl jiext morning, though Sir A. Chainner- <i , lain .subsequently admitted he could b not have handled the matter dillerentl.v ol or more expeditiously than he did. It u was the suggestion that the I'orcign P 1 Office sat upon the letter for two or t« three weeks to which the Conservatives M largely owed their electoral successes. " .Mr MacDonald said no living soul had w seen or claimed to have seen the orig- i) jnnl Zino vieff letter. Apparently moro ii than one alleged copy was about tl Everyone was guilty of over-stepping a I the mark in the rough and tumble ol 11 elections. This was totally different m It was the ease of a few people, inelud- ai ing some foreigners and some controllers of newspapers, siieeesslidly conspiring, possibly by forgery, certainly b.v fraud, to influence the elections. Mr .Marlowe’s letter proved there was a systematic leakage of Stale documents, I which meant that if Labour were in <’ power somone inside the departments b could carry the information to their s opponents for political purposes*. P Mr Amery, in answer to a question, " said families assisted to migrate undei the Empire Settlement Act last year totalled 8,0-9, comprising 51.090 |>ersous. The total individual migrants assisted was 63,027 and total expendi- ‘ ture on overseas settlement last year was 8f,337,097, of which 6269,001) was recoverable from the cost ol the alter care setttlcmeiit spread over a period of years. In addition to Empire Settle ment Act expenditure .the Ministry ol ‘ •Labour spent 637,000 testing and ] training prospective migrants. - Asked whether the Empire Govern- • meats would co-operate in an niquiry ( into Empire supplies of limber suitable for paper making. Mr Amery .-eplio. that the ground was largely accounted for by the Imperial Economic Comniittee’s inquiry, and marketing Empire timbers position would he lui'tlie' examined by the Imperial I‘orestry Conference in Australia- and New Zealand in Septcunber^,^^^^^^^