§ MR. BAXTERsaid, he would beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty why no vessel of war proceeded to Bird Island, in the Pacific, before December, 1856, although, as it appears from the printed papers, Mr. Miller, Her Majesty's Consul at Woahoo, had made known to the commanders of all Her Majesty's ships that 969 touched at that port since August, 1854, and also to the Commander in Chief of Her Majesty's Naval Forces in the Pacific, the purport of Mr. Hammond's circular despatch of May, 1854, directing diligent search to be made for deposits of guano; and whether Bird Island has since been taken possession of by the United States?
§ SIR CHARLES WOODsaid, that he could give no precise information upon the subject beyond that which was contained in the papers already before the House. He had no doubt, however, that the reason why no vessel had been sent to Bird Island was attributable to the demand upon our naval resources during the war.