§ Lord John Russellsaid, that as he understood a Petition had been presented to the House in his absence, complaining of the appointment of Lieutenant-Colonel Lyndsay to the command of the Fifeshire Militia, he should beg to say a word on the subject. He was ready, and fully prepared, to justify any recommendation to any appointment made by him at any time. But he thought that before he did so it was quite as well that those who forwarded the petition, as well as the hon. Members who presented and supported it, should be made aware of the law on the subject. The Militia law vested all appointments to the command of regiments in that service in the Lord-lieutenant of the county. The only provision which made that right of appointment not absolute was the necessity of a notification, on his part, to the Secretary of State for the Home Department, stating the fact and describing the individual appointed. If, within the space of fourteen days, the Secretary of State returned no answer, then the appointment was to be considered as final. In his (Lord John Russell's) view of the law the appointment was in the Lord-lieutenant solely—and it was merely for the Minister of the Crown to negative the introduction of any improper person into the command of the Militia. On the ground of unfitness alone, then, he could notify the disapprobation of the Crown. But he did not conceive that for motives purely personal, still less for motives connected with political opposition, the appointment of the Lord-lieutenant should be superseded. Yet these were the only grounds alleged against the appointment of Col. Lyndsay. Acting on that interpretation of the law, he had recommended to his Majesty to sanction the appointment made by the Earl of Rosslyn. He need scarcely assure the House that upon nothing less than very serious grounds was the disapprobation of the Crown to the appointment of the Lord-lieutenant ever signified, and it was never done upon political grounds. Of course there had been no notification made in the case adverse to the appointment of Colonel Lyndsay, and for the reasons he had stated, he felt entitled to deny that in the appointment of Militia Officers the same degree of responsibility attached to the Secretary of State as if he had directly counselled the appointment He felt it necessary to say these few words in the way of explanation, as there had been a good deal of misrepresentation on the subject.
§ Sir Robert Peelhad had the honour of being one of his Majesty's Secretaries of State—Secretary for the Home Department—for many years; and he felt bound to state to the House that during that period he had put the same construction on the Militia Law, as respected the matter of the petition, as had been put on it by the noble Lord opposite. He never should have thought of setting aside the recommendation of Lords-lieutenants of counties to Military Commissions, however contrary those who recommended, or those who were recommended, were to him in political feeling and opinion. He was convinced the noble Lord acted rightly; and he was also convinced that he acted in entire accordance with the spirit of the law. He believed the spirit of the law to be the design of depriving the Crown of the power of negativing the appointments of Lords-lieutenants of counties on the ground of political disagreement alone. With respect to the appointment in question he could only say, that any one who knew the characters of Lord Rosslyn and Colonel Lyndsay would be fully satisfied that the former would not recommend an improper person to such a high situation, and that the latter was as honourable a Gentleman as existed; and, moreover, as well fitted as any one in the kingdom for the office.
§ The subject dropped.