§ THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURYsaid, that, seeing the noble Duke (the Duke of Argyll) in his place, he wished to refer to a matter respecting the production of a telegram of the 30th of September last, to which Sir Erskine Perry and Sir Henry Montgomery had 1379 dissented. On a former occasion the noble Duke had asked that the telegram should be laid on their Lordships' Table. His (the Marquess of Salisbury's) reply was that he could not consent to its production, because it was a document of a confidential nature. The noble Duke thereupon suggested that its substance should be given, and pressed for its production. He could not on the moment reply to that suggestion, but having looked into the matter, he thought he might produce the substance of the telegram. At the same time, he must express his regret that persons of such influence as the ex-Secretaries of State for India (Viscount Halifax and the Duke of Argyll) had taken a course which left him no alternative but to produce the substance of a confidential telegram. If he refused to produce it after the discussion of the other night it would be said that there was something which he wished to keep back. On the other hand, in producing it he was reluctantly establishing a precedent in favour of the production of confidential documents.
THE DUKE OF ARGYLLsaid, he could assure the noble Marquess that neither he himself nor his noble Friend (Viscount Halifax) had any wish to embarrass him. They were under the impression that the despatch in question was only directed against the policy of Lord Northbrook. From what he had heard since, he believed that in the Papers produced by the noble Marquess, Parliament had the substance of the despatch. However, if his noble Friend thought well to produce more of it in a fresh Paper, of course he had nothing to say against his doing so.