On Friday evening the Chancellor of the Exchequer brought up a report from the Civil List Committee on the subject of the publication by the "Times" of the confidential statement laid before the Committee. It recommended that the Speaker should take such steps cither by excluding representatives' of the "Times" from the lobby of the House, or otherwise 28 might seem to him desirable to prevent such premature publication in future. The Speaker promised to give his early attention to the matter; but nothing has since been heard, and I am assured on excellent authority that nothing more is likely to be heard of it. The Birmingham Post" also yot hold of the confidential information, and published it, simultaneously with the "Times;" and I believe that the lobby representatives of both these papers have received something in the nature of a private reprimand from the Speaker. To call, them to the Bar of the House and reprimand them publicly would be rather ridiculous, The most guilty person is doubtedly the unknown member of the Committee from whom the two correspondents must almost certainly have obtained the information. At the same time the Editor of the "Times" cannot be held blameless. He pleads in excuse that the House and the country had a right to know what the proposals were, ud that there was no precedent for treating them as confidential. But. that does not get rid of the fact that the document, was marked "private and confidential." The ''limes" is an old offender in this way, but it ought to be icularly circumspect. just now, seem, nously indignant it has' waxed again of Into over the delinquencies of those halfpenny papers which exceeded the limits of decorum in the endeavour to publish early and exclusive information with regard to the last. hours of the Into Queen, and with regard to the Yarmouth murder.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.