§ The MARQUESS of LANSDOWNEsaid: My Lords, I feel myself under the necessity of calling the attention of the House, and particularly the attention of the noble Lord opposite (Lord Stanley), to the Motion of which notice has been given by him for to-morrow, and with respect to which I think it would not be doing justice to the noble Lord or to the House if I should not mention the existence of certain circumstances attached to the period at which the Motion is proposed to be made, which, in my opinion, would make it unadvisable that the Motion should be brought forward to-morrow. I think it right to state that communications have, within the last week, been going on between this Government and the Government of France, the result of which I certainly had hoped it might have been in my power to state to the House to-day or to-morrow, and thereby obviate the necessity which I now feel of submitting to the noble Lord's judgment whether he would bring on his Mo- 796 tion to-morrow. But I am so far disappointed in my expectation, that I cannot state that those communications have, at this moment, led to any result. At the same time, I have no hesitation in saying, and I am sure the noble Lord will take my word of honour for the truth of the assertion, that those communications are, in our expectation, likely to lead to a satisfactory result, and that the result, whether it be satisfactory or unsatisfactory, cannot fail to be known in the course of a very few days. Undoubtedly, under these circumstances, in my humble opinion, the discussion of the subject, the importance of which I do not wish to undervalue, might be attended with injurious consequences at the present moment, with reference to the state of these communications. Having made that statement to the House, and assuring the noble Lord that it would be my anxious wish that the discussion should come on to-morrow, if possible, and having no motive for not making this communication before, other than the hope that I might not be placed in the circumstances of being obliged to ask him to postpone his Motion, I venture to hope that, upon consideration of the subject, he will be led to defer this Motion for a few days. If he will do so, I will state that any arrangement that can best accommodate him and the House on the subject, I shall feel most happy and most ready to make.
LORD STANLEYMy Lords, I am prepared to do full justice to the moderation of tone, and the courtesy which the noble Marquess has shown in making this communication and request. But I must be pardoned for saying that he has really strained to the utmost extent that Parliamentary courtesy which any noble Lord may be disposed to yield to the request of the Government. The noble Marquess will not forget that upon a former occasion, not upon the preceding day, but at the very moment when I rose to propose my Motion, I was met by a request similar to that which he makes now, that I would postpone it, because, as he said, we should be debating across this table a matter which would in all probability be settled in the course of a few days elsewhere across another table between Baron Gros and Mr. Wyse. Now, my Lords, since that period six or seven weeks have elapsed, and the affairs of Greece have been brought, as we thought, to a conclusion. Her Majesty's Ministers having laid 797 upon the table all the papers that they thought necessary to lay before this House. The ransom of the ships, and the satisfaction of the claims, having been actually paid, and our fleet having been withdrawn, I did hope that the time had come when, without objection or remonstrance, I might ask your Lordships to pass a judgment and give an opinion upon what has occurred. I gave notice of the Motion some ten days ago, and it is not until now, upon the eve of the Motion, that a request is made which, urged as it is by the noble Marquess upon the part of the Government, I find it hard to resist, that I would postpone it on account of negotiations still pending, which might be injuriously affected by the discussion. Now, it is undoubtedly true, that in the course of that discussion I would have to touch upon some of the transactions which have more recently taken place between the Governments of this country and of France. But that would form only a portion of the matter on which I should have to ask for your Lordships' opinions and votes. It will not be so much upon the merits of the controversy between the two Governments of France and England that I shall have to address your Lordships, as upon the original demands which our Government made on Greece, the manner in which they have enforced those demands, the justice of the demands, and the danger arising from the manner in which they have been enforced, and of placing our friendly relations with foreign Powers generally, and with Prance in particular, in jeopardy. For these reasons I would be most unwilling to postpone, even for a single day, the Motion of which I have given notice; but if the noble Marquess is prepared to say, upon his responsibility as a Minister, that a settlement of great importance for the peace of Europe is upon the point of being come to, and that within the space of three or four days, at farthest, it might be expected to be settled or abandoned, and if he will say that, under these circumstances, the discussion of this matter to-morrow would interpose serious difficulties in the way of coming to a satisfactory settlement, I would say that that is a reason to which all considerations of party feeling or personal convenience must give way. And if the noble Marquess is prepared to make the declaration in his place, as a Minister of the Crown—if he will say that in the course of the next week this matter is to be settled between Her Majesty's Govern- 798 ment and the Government of France, I will consent, though with reluctance, to postpone the Motion of which I have given notice for to-morrow. But this I wish him particularly to observe—that I am to understand that, settlement or no settlement, on Monday se'nnight the discussion shall be brought on. I hope the noble Marquess will give this assurance; for I think that it is injurious to the public service, and unjust to the case itself, that this question should be postponed until the public interest in it shall have slackened, and I, therefore, trust that he will not ask for any further postponement.
§ The MARQUESS of LANSDOWNEMy Lords, in my own defence I must refer to the former occasion on which I had to ask the noble Lord to postpone his Motion relating to Greece. I certainly made that request when he was about to bring it on; but then he had only given notice of his intention to do so on the preceding night. I therefore had no opportunity of asking him to postpone it until the day which he had appointed for it. But with respect to the present request, it is one which I have made with the greatest reluctance. I have been encouraged to hope, up to this very morning that I should not be under the necessity of making it. With regard to the noble Lord's demand, I have only to say, on my responsibility as a Minister, that it might be, in my opinion, attended with injurious consequences if the discussion should take place at a moment when communications with the Government of Prance are leading to a result which I humbly hope may be satisfactory. Beyond that I cannot go. And when the noble Lord uses the expression, of danger to the peace of Europe, I am not prepared to say that the differences now existing between the Governments are of such a nature as that, even if the pending communications should not lead to a satisfactory conclusion, the peace of Europe would necessarily be thereby endangered. But our great anxiety is to bring this question to an end with the goodwill, the concurrence, and the cordial co-operation of the French Government. We wish to act in perfect good faith, and it has been our sincere desire throughout to co-operate with the French Government with respect to the terms made with Greece. I hope I have said sufficient to satisfy the noble Lord. I accept, of course, his determination, after what I have said, and I beg to add that I have not been at all surprised at his anxiety to 799 bring it on. I wish to give him every facility in my power, and I therefore most readily admit that the objections which I now make to the discussion of the question to-morrow cannot hold good after another week. I shall certainly, under no circumstances, renew this application.
LORD STANLEYUnder these circumstances, my Lords, I shall postpone the Motion I have on the paper for to-morrow, respecting the affairs of Greece, until Monday se'nnight.