§ On Mr. Spring Rice's Motion, that the Speaker leave the Chair for the House to go into a Committee of Supply,
§ Mr. Goulburnsaid, that he wished to say a few words relative to what had fallen from the hon. Gentleman on a former night, concerning the Post-master-general of Ireland, and at which time he did pot happen to be in the House. He did 780 not wish to derogate any thing from the present, or to arrogate anything to the past Administration. All he wished was, that the case should stand on its true footing with the House; and he begged to inform it that this saving would have been equally effected if the present Ministers had never come into Office. It had been said, that the office ought to have been abolished; but this was impossible till a new measure had been introduced into Parliament for the purpose of putting the business of the office on another footing. The office, however, was virtually abolished. This assertion did not rest upon his dictum, but was known in the office to which the hon. Gentleman now belonged; and if he had remained in Office, it was his intention to bring forward a measure for the consolidation of the Post-offices, and to get rid of the place in question. The present Government, therefore, had done no more than the former Government intended to do. There was a legal difficulty in the way of abolishing the office and he repeated, that the moment that difficulty should have been removed by Parliament, it was the intention of the late Government to have abolished the office. If the present Government should accept the resignation of the Postmaster-general of Ireland before they made any alteration of the law with reference to that office, they would leave that department of the public service without a responsible head. Without the authority of the Postmaster-general, the Government could not legally transmit letters, or demand money for their transmission.
Mr. Ricedisclaimed all idea of taking advantage of his right hon. friend's absence, for the purpose of mentioning any statement. What he had said had referred to Lord Ross, and not to Lord O'Neil, and the resignation of the former was made to the present First Lord of the Treasury; so that, of course, his right hon. friend could not know of that. If he had been aware that it was the intention of the former Government to abolish the office, he should not have withheld that information from the House.
§ Sir H. Hardingesaid, that Lord Ross had only held the office till the legal difficulties could be removed; and when that took place it was determined to abolish the office.