§ MR. GRIFFITHsaid, he would beg to ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether if, in the opinion of the Law Officers of the Crown, the capture of the Cagliari proves to have been illegal ab initio, it is the intention of Her Majesty's Government to demand and require from the Neapolitan Government full and ample compensation to the Engineers, Watt and Park, for the treatment, causing permanent injury to their mental and bodily health, which they, the subjects of Her Majesty, have received.
THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUERsaid, that the number of absolute questions which the Government were obliged to encounter was at present so great that they had come, as a general rule, to the determination to avoid as much as possible hypothetical questions. He hoped, therefore, that the hon. Gentleman would not complain of any discourtesy on his part if he expressed his inability to respond to the inquiry which had been addressed to him.
§ LORD JOHN RUSSELLsaid, he wished to know whether the opinion of the Law Officers of the Crown in reference to the case of the Cagliari has been received by the Government.
THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUERsaid, it was customary to give notice of absolute questions; but of course, as it was in his power to answer the question of the noble Lord, he would do so with great readiness. The Government had not yet received the opinion of the Law Officers of the Crown.