HC Deb 11 May 1874 vol 219 cc74-5
COLONEL BARTTELOT

, after giving Notice of his intention to ask certain Questions next Thursday relating to the Martini-Henry rifle, said, that the hon. Member for Glasgow (Mr. Anderson) had given Notice of a Motion of a serious kind, for which no day had been fixed, affecting the character of Lord Sandhurst as Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in Ireland, stating that that gallant officer had been absent from his duty for 17 months, and had made certain erroneous Returns. The charge involved such a dereliction of duty as to call for some stronger mark of censure than the return of the money allowed to have been wrongly received; and he wished to ask the hon. Member, Whether, considering the importance of this Motion, affecting as it did the character and conduct of an officer of such high distinction, he could not at once state the day on which he intended to bring forward his Motion, for it was unfair, at once, to the Nobleman in question, and to the House, that the question should be delayed one hour longer than was necessary? He was informed that there was some Correspondence which ought to be known to the House, and which was to be found in the Library, but he trusted that the Motion would be at once brought before the House.

MR. ANDERSON

said, he could assure the hon. and gallant Member that it was with very great pain that he felt himself obliged to put down the Motion, and he freely admitted that it would be an inconvenience and a hardship to let such a Motion stand for any indefinite time. The difficulty, however, was to get an early opportunity for the discussion of it. He should go on balloting to get a place, and if he did not succeed, he should put it for some evening on the Motion to go into Committee of Supply. As regarded the Correspondence which had taken place in reference to this matter, it had not been printed, partly because it was very voluminous, and partly because after consultation with the librarian it appeared that no amount of printing would show the real points at issue. It was, however, to be seen in the Library by any hon. Gentleman who desired to look at it.