MR. HUMEsaid, he begged to ask the right hon. Gentleman the President of the Board of Control at what period he intended to submit the annual Budget for India, and whether, previous to doing so, he intended to lay before the House any documents or accounts which would assist it in its consideration of the subject?
§ SIR CHARLES WOODsaid, his hon. Friend would be aware that by Act of Parliament the Indian accounts were laid on the table of the House about the middle of May. The statement which he (Sir C. Wood) must make for any recent period must therefore be based upon those accounts, which would not be laid on the table of the House until that time, and would probably not be in the hands of Members until some days afterwards. More than this, they were now carrying on a considerable financial operation in the reduction of the 5 per cent to the 4 per cent debt, which would not be concluded until the 30th of April. Of course, it would enable him to make a more satisfactory statement to the House if he could announce the nature and result of that operation; and he thought, therefore, it would not be possible for him to make any statement before early in the month of June, when he could inform the House of the result of that very large and, he hoped, satisfactory financial operation.
§ MR. BRIGHTsaid, that something had been said last year, when the India Committee was sitting, about placing the East India accounts upon a different footing. A gentleman who was a great authority upon the subject recommended that this course should be taken, while others stated that it was unnecessary, and that nothing could be more admirable than the accounts as they were now managed. At the same time the House had not before it now the accounts for a later period than 1852. What he wished to ask was, whether, seeing that a man could go in a month from India to this country, it was not possible for the House to have before it during every Session the Indian accounts up to the December preceding—that is, that the accounts for 1853 should be laid upon the table of the House during the Session of 785 1854? The right hon. Gentleman would see that if the House only got the accounts for three years back, and a sketch estimate of which nobody could make anything, it was as bad as having no statement at all. He would ask, therefore, whether the accounts could not be laid before the House for a much more recent period in future?
§ SIR CHARLES WOODsaid, the Indian accounts had always been made up on the 30th of April, so that those which were brought before the House were the accounts of the preceding April. The accounts of the different presidencies were not kept on the same principle and in the same manner as they were here, but he had had a model system drawn out in a very different and, as far as he could judge, more satisfactory manner. This he proposed to submit to the accountant of the Treasury, and to other parties, but, until he had got the plan into proper shape and had sent it out to India for consideration, he could not promise his hon. Friend that the accounts would be brought up to a more recent date than at present.
§ MR. BRIGHTsaid, this was quite satisfactory. It was enough to know that the attention of the right hon. Gentleman was directed to the subject.