BUDGET LEAKAGE

Evening Post, Issue 11, 13 July 1936, Page 10

BUDGET LEAKAGE

THE AIM OF THE

INQUIRY

WIDER THAN CRIMINAL LAW

(From "The Post's" Representative.)

LONDON, June 13.

At the conclusion of the speeches of Mr. J.. H. Thomas and Sir Alfred Butt in the House of Commons announcing their acceptance of the finding of the Budget Inquiry ; Tribunal and announcing their intention of resigning their seats, the Prime Minister, Mr. Stanley Baldwin, spoke as follows: — "I thmk it only right for purposes of record to make as clear as I can the difference between the tribunal which was set up and the ordinary court of law, so that the House may be clear on points that I think they may be a little apt to confuse. The Attorney-General is responsible for instituting proceedings on a criminal charge,- and in explaining his reasons for not instituting criminal proceedings, he emphasised, among other things, the necessity of es« tablishing that any disclosure was deliberate. The action which the- tribunal had to investigate was a wider and more general one. It was' the question whether any unauthorised disclosure of any kind was made of information relating, to the Budget for the present year; or any use was made of it for the purpose of private gain. "The tribunal was not only bound by the rules of criminal procedure? and, was not concerned with all the ingredients of a criminal charge but was considering whether there had been a leakage of any kind, whether purely accidental, or careless or deliberate, and. the unanimous conclusion reached by the tribunal was that there was in fact an unauthorised disclosure. There is, of course, no inconsistency between the decision of the Attorney-General and the conclusion of the' tribunal, and it would be very wrong -to treat the finding of the tribunal as a finding that an offence had been committed against the specific term of the criminal law. "Mr. Thomas, whose long . public career is known to every member o£ this House, and whose loyal co-opera-tion in the • interests of the nation '-in the Government for the last five yerrs I gratefully acknowledge—(cheers — recognises, and you saw it from his speech, that the House is bound to accept the finding of the triblunal. Mr. Thomas, I am sure, realises thi3, an . has taken a course which deserves, and I know will, receive.the full sympathy of the House. While maintaining, as he s has a perfect right to do. that he is conscious of no offence, at tne same time he recognises that the unanimous conclusion reached by the tribunal is one from which the House cannot differ; "In the case of Sir Alfred Butt, the House will feel that he has taken a proper course. .In his case, it is necessary to emphasise and to remember that the finding of the" tribunal is not and does not profess to be a criminal verdict. It is a 'finding that in his case use was •made of confidential information for the purpose of his private gain. Here, again, the coursa which I must recommend is that the report of the tribunal should bo accepted. "The older I grow the more conscious I am of it, when I see a man put before a tribunal of that nature to. answer questions on episodes in his past life, where anything may be brought up, I ask myself which of us could escape it. They are paying the penalty in full, and let us hope with all our hearts that we may never again take part in so painful a scene in this. House." '. The London, Midland, and Scottish, Railway has announced that contracts have been placed with British manufacturers for 19 all-steel three-car bogie electric trains, together with electric train equipment, in connection 1C with the electrification of the Wirral of section between Birkenhead Park, New Brighton, and West Kirov.