§ EARL GRANVILLEsaid, it would be in the recollection of their Lordships, that in the debate on the Oude Proclamation the noble Earl at the head of the Government expressed himself with regard to Lord Canning in terms of considerable respect and courtesy. Their Lordships would probably also have seen, through the ordinary channels of information, that towards the end of a protracted debate "in another place" the Chancellor of the Exchequer stated, amid the cheers of both sides of the House, that Her Majesty's Government had sent a telegraphic message to Lord Canning, subsequent to the resignation of the noble Earl the late President of the Board of Control, intimating to him that he would receive the support of Her Majesty's Government. He (Earl Granville) might complain that language was held in the course of that debate by Members of the Government, which tended to give the public the notion that Lord Canning was not likely to receive much support from Her Majesty's Government. He might also complain of the language held in a certain postprandial speech, but as that would be referred to in the course of the evening he would not anticipate the con- 1268 versation. He congratulated the noble Earl opposite (the Earl of Derby) on the great ability and the high character of his son, which had enabled the noble Earl to place him in a position of great difficulty and responsibility; and he (Earl Granville) was convinced that if the promise of support to which he had referred had been given to Lord Canning, that promise would be faithfully and honourably fulfilled. He was sure that a public declaration from the noble Earl opposite, that such a promise had been given to Lord Canning, would be regarded as of the greatest importance in India, since the censure contained in the secret despatch of the noble Earl the late President of the Board of Control had been made public. He would therefore venture to ask the noble Earl, whether there was any objection to the production of a copy of the communication to which allusion had been made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the other House; also, if there was any objection to produce a copy of the Vote of Confidence of the Court of Directors in Lord Canning; and whether the noble Earl would likewise lay on the table a copy of the despatch covering that Vote of Confidence?
§ THE EARL OF DERBYsaid, he hoped that on all occasions he had spoken of Lord Canning with that respect and personal regard which was due to his eminent talents and abilities. With regard to the support which had been recently tendered to that noble Lord, it was not for the first time tendered. If the noble Earl (Earl Granville) would refer to the despatch that was sent out by his (the Earl of Derby's) noble Friend the late President of the Board of Control, of the 24th of March, he would find that it distinctly laid down the policy which Her Majesty's Government hoped to pursue, and an assurance that Lord Canning would receive the support of the Government in carrying out that policy. The Proclamation issued by Lord Canning was not, as their Lordships were aware, approved by the Government, inasmuch as it appeared contrary to that policy which Lord Canning had previously pursued; and the despatch in which his noble Friend (the Earl of Ellenborough) communicated the opinions of the Government in regard to that Proclamation had, as he (the Earl of Derby) thought, unfortunately come before the public eye. The only communication which had taken place of the nature to which the noble Earl had referred, in which the Government promised their support to Lord Canning, was contained in 1269 a telegraphic message transmitted by him (the Earl of Derby) as a personal communication to Lord Canning, with whom he had no right to enter into any official correspondence whatever; it was sent with the view to its overtaking the mail which had gone out on the 10th. And he communicated on the 12th by telegraph with Lord Canning, informing him of the change that had taken place in the Government by the retirement of his noble Friend the late President of the Board of Control, and of the regret of the Government that the secret despatch which his noble Friend had addressed to him had been made public, and expressing the determination of the Government to give him the most cordial support in their power. It also expressed the hope of the Government that, while they approved the policy laid down in the Secret Despatch of the 19th of April, Lord Canning would not in practice find it greatly to differ from the policy recommended by his (the Earl of Derby's) noble Friend in the former despatch. Of course, those telegraphic communications must necessarily be very short; but, under the circumstances, he had no hesitation in promising the most cordial support to Lord Canning. It would not be proper to produce the private communication to Lord Canning to which the noble Earl had alluded; but with regard to the vote of confidence of the Court of Directors in Lord Canning there would not be the least objection to lay that on the table. In cases of that kind, there was, he believed, no covering despatch.