THE QUEEN'S MESSAGE—THE SAR DINIAN LOAN. (Hansard, 19 June 1856)

§ THE EARL OF CLARENDON

said, in rising, my Lords, to ask your Lordships to agree to a humble Address to be presented to Her Majesty in reply to Her gracious Message, I have to state that the Convention which was laid upon your Lordships' table on Monday last had for its object to fulfil, not perhaps the letter, but certainly the spirit of the treaty concluded between Great Britain and Sardinia in 1855. With regard to that treaty, owing to an accident, for which the Sardinian Government was in no way responsible, a delay had taken place in the exchange of ratifications, and, consequently it was found impossible to bring in a Bill to give effect to it before the Easter of last year. A Bill 1672 was brought in after Easter, to which Her Majesty's assent was given on the 26th of April. The terms of that Convention were, that within twelve months the first instalment, £1,000,000, should be paid to Sardinia, and that, in the event of the war continuing, a like sum should be paid in the succeeding year. The first instalment of that loan was applied for on the 26th of April, and was paid on the 3rd of May. The treaty of peace with Russia was signed on the 27th of April—that is, a year and a day after the Royal assent was given to that Bill, and a year and a day after the first instalment had been applied for by the Sardinian Government. If, therefore, that instalment had been paid on the day upon which it was applied for, or if the treaty of peace had been signed two days later, the honour and good faith of this country would have been pledged by the letter of the treaty to pay the second sum of £1,000,000 as a matter of course; and as it is, I think, the country stands equally pledged to do so, if not according to the letter, at least according to the spirit of the treaty. Your Lordships are well aware that the loan was advanced to Sardinia for the sole and exclusive purpose of carrying on the war in which we were then engaged, and your Lordships also know well how great, and noble were the exertions made by that country. Sardinia had also made the necessary arrangements, and had incurred the expense of preparation for another campaign in the event of the continuance of the war. It was only the other day, in Paris, that Count Cavour, being desirous that there should be no disguise or concealment about the matter, but that full information should be afforded to Her Majesty's Government with regard to the application of this money, placed in my hands an official statement of the expense which had been incurred by Sardinia, and which amounted to 75,000,000f.—that is to say, to £1,000,000 more than this country will have advanced. I think, therefore, that I need say no more in order to induce your Lordships to ratify the spirit of the contract which we entered into with an Ally whose foreign and domestic policy has recommended itself to all classes, and has excited universal sympathy and admiration. The noble Earl concluded by moving an Address in answer to Her Majesty's gracious Message.

§ THE EARL OF DERBY

I rise, my Lords, to express my entire concurrence in 1673 the Address moved by the noble Earl. If it be the case—and it appears that it is the case—that, according to the letter of the engagement into which we have entered with Sardinia, we might escape the payment of this money, still I think that, under the circumstances of the case, it is perfectly clear that by the spirit of that, engagement the honour and good faith of the country are pledged to this advance. I quite concur with the noble Earl in thinking that if there is one country in the world with which we are bound more than with another to observe the most scrupulous good faith, it is a country which, at some risk to herself, came forward in the noble manner in which Sardinia did to take part in the struggle in which we have been engaged, and which, having thus come forward, behaved with the utmost loyalty and good faith and rendered most valuable service; nor is it her fault that those services were not rendered for a longer period. I must also say that, although such considerations ought not to actuate us in our foreign policy, it is impossible not to feel the deepest interest in the prosperity and well being of Sardinia. Situated in a position of great difficulty, she has known how to introduce a system of government hitherto unknown in Italy, and has established and sustained a representative system and a modified constitutional Government which stand out in bright and striking contrast with the despotism which prevails in some parts of Italy, and with the anarchy and revolutionary spirit in others. I should regret much to see added to the embarrassment of Sardinia a pecuniary embarrassment caused by the failure on the part of this country to discharge to the uttermost, and in the most extended spirit, any obligation into which we have entered.