§ MR. W. EWARTmoved to nominate the Select Committee on Colonisation and Settlement in India.
MR. ESMONDEsaid, he must repeat his complaint that Irish Members were ex- 554 cluded from important Committees affecting the interests of the empire at large. It was not his intention to offer factious opposition, and therefore he would content himself with asking whether it was fair that Ireland should not be represented on such important Committees as that on the Consular Service and on East India Colonisation?
§ MR. P. O'BRIENthought that greater attention ought to be given to the constitution of Committees. A noble Lord opposite had given notice of a Motion on the constitution of Committees on private Bills, and he hoped the attention of Parliament would be directed to the subject so as to apply a remedy.
THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUERsaid, he could assure the hon. Member that there had been no intentional exclusion of Irish Members. Whenever he struck a Committee he always endeavoured to avail himself of the services of Irish Members, not out of courtesy to them, hut because they generally brought an amount of talent and zeal to bear upon the questions submitted to them which was of great public value. At the same time he thought a rigid adherence to a rule, that upon every Committee the three great divisions of the empire should be represented would prove very inconvenient. Occasions sometimes arose in which, from the special nature of the subject to be considered, it might be desirable to appoint English Members instead of Irish or Scotch Members. The object of forming a Committee was to get the best available talent, and, under those circumstances, the representatives of Ireland might be sure they would not be overlooked or excluded. In the present case the complaint of the hon. Gentleman was hardly well-founded, because upon one Committee there was the name of the noble Lord the Member for Tyrone (Lord C. Hamilton), although the appearance of the names for the Consular Committee was an inadvertence, it not being intended to move them at present. Upon the other Committee there was the name of the hon. and gallant Member for Dublin county (Colonel Taylor), so that it was not quite the case that Ireland was totally unrepresented.
§ After a few words of explanation from Mr. ESMONDE,
§ MR. BAILLIEsaid, he had endeavoured to induce the hon. Member for Dublin to serve on the Indian Colonisation Committee, but that hon. Gentleman's engage- 555 ments could not permit him to accede to the request.
§ MR. BRADYobserved that, as there were complaints that Roman Catholic priests in India were not quite fairly treated, it was most improper that there should be no Irish Member upon the Committee.
§ MR. W. EWARTsaid, he had endeavoured to get a good working Committee, but if it should be possible to add the name of any Irish Member, an application should be made to the House upon a future occasion to permit such addition.
§ Motion agreed to.
§ Select Committee on Colonisation (India) nominated:—
§ Mr. WILLIAM EWART, Mr. BAILLIE, Mr. CAMP-DELL, Mr. GREGSON, Mr. KINNAIRD, Mr. KNIGHT, Mr. LOWE, Mr. LYGON, Mr. MANGLES, Sir ERSKINE PERRY, Mr. SEYMOUR, Mr. JOHN BENJAMIN SMITH, Mr. WILLIAM VANSITTART, Mr. VILLIERS, and Mr. WILLOUGHBY.
§ Power to send for persons, papers, and records; Five to be the quorum.