HL Deb 23 February 1857 vol 144 cc1031-4

LORD POLWARTH moved, that an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty for any Papers or Correspondence relative to the Cession of the Islands of Haski Jibleea and Ghurzoad by the Imaum of Muscat to Her Majesty, and their erection into a Colony; and also to call the attention of the House to a Licence granted on the 20th of February, 1856, by the Commissioners of Emigration to John Ord and others, giving them the sole and exclusive Right to raise and take away Guano from these Islands during five years. The noble Lord made some remarks, which were imperfectly heard, upon the great importance of guano to the agriculture of the United Kingdom, and to urge that the Government should encourage, as far as they could, the opening up of new sources from which an increased supply of guano could be obtained—and, consequently, deprecated any arrangement which, by giving a monopoly to private parties, should deprive this country of the benefit of the reduced price which enlarged supplies of this description of manure would otherwise secure. Not only in his opinion was this grant to Messrs. Ord liable to this objection, but he could not avoid expressing his surprise at finding that the Emigration Commissioners had the power of granting exclusive licences without giving notice to Parliament.

THE EARL OF CLARENDON

said, that there could be no objection to give the papers asked for by the noble Lord, for the Government were desirous of laying before Parliament and the public the fullest information on the subject of any islands supposed to contain guano, and had the same feelings as animated the agricultural bodies with respect to the importance of taking measures to increase the supply. He had, at the request of the Agricultural Society and other bodies, directed a circular to be sent to our consuls in countries where either guano or nitrates useful for agricultural purposes were likely to be found, requesting them to give the earliest possible information if any supplies should be discovered. With respect to the particular islands referred to by the noble Lord, their history was this. Some time ago a Mr. Bell, of Edinburgh, informed him that Captain Ord had discovered in the course of one of his voyages some guano islands, the precise locality of which, of course, he wished to keep secret in order that no person should anticipate him in obtaining the advantage of the discovery. A good deal of correspondence took place on the subject; and at length Captain Ord having informed the Government where the islands were, it was arranged that he should accompany Captain Peel, who was then going out to that quarter, in order to point out the islands, to discover to whom they belonged, with the view of obtaining if possible their cession. Captain Peel accordingly, on his arrival out, communicated with our consul at the Court of the Imaum of Muscat, Mr. Freemantle, who was of opinion that they belonged to the Imaum. As the Imaum was then absent, Captain Peel went to the islands; the weather only permitted his landing on one, where he found no guano, but discovered some inhabitants, who told him they were the subjects of the Imaum of Muscat. He then returned and saw the Imaum, who expressed no doubt as to the islands being his, and said that he should have great pleasure in ceding them to Her Majesty. Captain Peel then again returned to the islands, which he inspected; and he reported that the quantity of guano was small in quantity and inferior in quality—in fact, that as guano islands they were valueless. He thought, however, that one of the islands was important as a coaling station, and it was offered to the East India Company for that purpose. They did not, however, think proper to accept the offer, and the islands then passed under the Colonial Office, and it was supposed that the question of obtaining guano from them had been set at rest. However, at the end of the year 1855, Mr. Ord said that he found that the guano, although not so good as Peruvian, was yet sufficiently good to make it worth getting, and he said that he was willing to undergo the expense and trouble of ascertaining the fact if the Government would grant him a lease for five years of the island. Well, considering that he was the original discoverer, that the report on the islands was not favourable, and that there was a great chance that no guano would be discovered, the lease was granted. However, the Government in doing so, expressed an opinion to Captain Ord that no monopoly ought to be created of so valuable an article; whereupon Captain Ord had written to him an undertaking that every cargo of guano obtained on those islands should, as it arrived at Liverpool, be sold by public auction in the open market in lots, suitable to all purchasers. That letter was written in 1855, and lately the Colonial Secretary, in communicating with the firm at Liverpool, who were acting for Captain Ord, and had applied for protection for him in his labours, had informed them that the Government considered the pledge as binding. He had also that morning received a letter from that firm informing him that Captain Ord was willing to allow any ships whatever to resort to the islands for the purpose of loading guano, provided he received a royalty of £2 per ton.

THE DUKE OF MONTROSE

said, he considered a royalty of £2 a ton would be too much to give to Captain Ord and his party, and that it would have the effect of keeping up a high price to the consumer.

LORD BERNERS

also thought the royalty too high, and objected that the arrangement made with Messrs. Ord and Co. was an infraction of the principle that colonial lands were public property. It was, he thought, somewhat contradictory that while the Government were endeavouring to put an end to the monopoly in regard to Peruvian guano, they should be actually encouraging monopoly in regard to the supply of the same article from another part of the world. He had understood that on one of these islands, when a thin crust had been cut through, there would be found underneath a deposit of guano amounting to from 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 tons.

THE EARL OF HARDWICKE

said, that as it appeared that Captain Ord and the gentlemen associated with him were at present applying for the protection of an armed force to enable them to conduct their operations, the Government would be perfectly justified in taking advantage of that application, with a view to make a better bargain for the public. The price of Peruvian guano in this country was at present £15 per ton, and those gentlemen would now find themselves placed in a better position in the English market than they could have expected at the time the grant of the licence had been made to them.

Lord POLWARTH and the Earl of CLARENDON

said a few words in reply to these observations, which were inaudible.

Motion agreed to.