SIR ROBERT FERGUSONsaid, he wished to inquire whether the statement in the Irish papers was correct, that the Under-Secretary for Ireland had been permanently appointed, and if so, whether the Government would have any objection to lay the correspondence on the table?
§ SIR JOHN YOUNGsaid, the office of Under-Secretary for Ireland had always been considered a permanent appointment until 1830 or 1834—he believed the latter year. The changing of that officer, who was conversant with all the details and routine of business, at the time when the Lord Lieutenant, the Chief Secretary, and the Lord Chancellor were removed, might lead to great inconvenience, particularly as it was an office not necessarily connected with politics. He thought it desirable that the gentleman filling the office should be independent of political parties, and able to act impartially between them. The gentleman who had been selected, Major Larcom, had been for a long time employed on the survey in Ireland and by the Board of Works, and had not been appointed on any political grounds. He was well acquainted with the affairs of Ireland, and the change might be regarded as a removal from one branch of the civil service to another. The present arrangement was that the office should be permanent, but of course the present Government could not bind any other Government on the subject. He had no objection to the production of the correspondence.