§ MR. MACFIEsaid, he would beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury, Whether he has received information that statements have appeared in several of the New York journals that the Com- 498 missioners had been empowered to take into consideration an offer by the United States for the purchase of all the British North-American Colonies; whether Her Majesty's Government had received any such proposal; and, whether the Government Instructions to the Commissioners do not entirely preclude them from taking into consideration such a proposal for the diminution of the Empire?
MR. GLADSTONESir, we have received no such proposal as that mentioned by my hon. Friend, and I am in a state of total and absolute ignorance upon the subject. But I may, perhaps, be permitted to say, further, that I hope that while the negotiations in America are in progress, the hon. Member will not think it necessary to ask questions in this House founded upon mere anonymous authorities.