The Chancellor of the Exchequersaid, that before his hon. Friend brought forward the miscellaneous estimates, he (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) would, with the leave of the Committee communicate to them the contents of a letter which he had received from his noble Friend who was at the head of the Woods and Forests. He was anxious to take the earliest opportunity of doing so, because the letter in question related to the Speaker of the House of Commons. Lord Duncannon had written to him (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) by command of his Majesty, on the best means of providing, until the rebuilding of the Houses of Parliament, a convenient and suitable residence for the Speaker. The letter was to the following effect:— "Some difficulty having arisen on the subject, his Majesty has been graciously pleased to place at the disposal of the House of Commons Marlborough House; and I am commanded by the King to cause it to be immediately repaired, in order that it may be occupied by the Speaker until the new Houses of Parliament, and a fit and proper residence for that Officer shall be completed. I request that you will take the earliest opportunity of making this communication to the House of Commons." He (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) trusted that this communication would be received in the spirit in which it had been made. It tended to prove that no effort on the part of his Majesty would be wanting to accommodate the House of Commons, or 418 the high Officer who presided over their proceedings; and showed that his Majesty was prepared to follow up the declaration which he made at the period of the burning of the two Houses, that he was perfectly ready to place his new palace at the disposal of the House.
§ Lord Granville Somersetwished to put two questions to the right hon. Gentleman. The first was, in what manner the arrangement which, when he (Lord Granville Somerset) was at the head of the Woods and Forests, he had made with Lord Warwick for a House for two years had been disposed of? The second question was (and he believed the right hon. Gentleman would bear him out in the fact) that, as his Majesty, two or three years ago, in pursuance of an Act of Parliament which authorized him to do so, executed a deed, by which Marlborough House was settled on her Majesty in the event of the King's death, how could his Majesty dispose of it in the meanwhile?
The Chancellor of the Exchequerwould endeavour to answer the question of the noble Lord—The first question was, how the arrangement made by the noble Lord between the Officer of Woods and Forests and Lord Warwick had been got rid of? He (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) believed that it was terminated by the act of Lord Warwick himself, who, on his return to England, considered the contract to be such as to give him the power to put an end to it, and he accordingly had given notice of his intention to do so. With respect to the second question, the House would bear in mind that the possession of Marlborough House, during the existence of the lease, belonged to the King of Belgium. That lease would expire in July, 1836 [An hon. Member said, 1835]. Well 1835, and the property would then revert to the Crown. It was true that the ultimate destination of Marlborough House was the Dower House for the use of her Majesty. But in the interval the House would remain a mere public building, to be supported without any use. He believed that it devolved on the King of Belgium to leave the House in good repair. Under these circumstances it was, that his Majesty, seeing this building unoccupied, and seeing also the necessity of providing a residence for the Speaker, had generously put Marlborough House at the disposal of Parliament for the occupation of the Speaker.
§ Mr. Charles Barclaysaid, that the House could not fail feeling obliged for his Majesty's offer, but it was obvious that a great increase of expense must accrue to the Speaker by residing in a House so unnecessarily large. It was also a very inconvenient situation for the residence of the Speaker.
§ Mr. Humesaid, that any offer for the public convenience that would be attended with economy, would be most acceptable, but he thought the present proposition was not an economical one. Having lately reduced the Speaker's salary, the House ought not to impose on him a more expensive residence than what former Speakers had been accustomed to occupy. If Lord Warwick wished to have possession of his House, let him have it; and Parliament would provide another for the Speaker. He would therefore submit to the Chancellor of the Exchequer that a vote of thanks should be given to his Majesty, for his kind intention, but that under the arrangements which the House thought it proper to make for, and the views they entertained respect their Speaker, they would rather take upon themselves to provide a residence for him. When he proposed that Marlborough House should be given up for the use of Parliament, he was told that it could not be had, because it was settled upon her Majesty. Let it remain, then, with her Majesty. No doubt the Speaker would consider it better to live in a smaller House, and be able to enjoy the comforts of life, than to be placed in a palace and starved. The repairs of Marlborough House would cost 5,000l.; he therefore hoped his right hon. Friend would not press this arrangement.
Sir Thomas Freemantlefelt grateful for his Majesty's kind proposal, but, at the same time, the House ought to take the situation of the Speaker into consideration and ought not to kill him with kindness. Another question was, as to the furniture: Was the Speaker to furnish so large a house, merely for a temporary residence of two or three years?
§ Mr. Robinsonapprehended that this was not the proper time to discuss the question; but he wished to observe that if the King of Belgium repaired Marlborough House, the public would receive so much the less out of the annuity which his Belgian Majesty had remitted to this nation. He wished to ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the departure from the 420 arrangement with Lord Warwick had cost the public anything?
The Chancellor of the Exchequeragreed that this was not the time to discuss the question; but he had done no more than obey the commands he had received, by making the communication to the House. Though Gentlemen had expressed a difference of opinion with respect to the appropriation of Marlborough House to the use of the Speaker, yet he conceived that there could be no difference of opinion as to the feeling which had dictated the offer made by his Majesty, or as to the gratitude that was due from the House for so generous an act. In answer to the hon. Member for Worcester, he (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) begged to say, that it was not the Government, but Lord Warwick, who had departed from the arrangement. That noble Lord had given notice to terminate the lease, and thus it became necessary to provide the Speaker with some other place of residence. If Marlborough House should be considered above the scale fitted for the residence of the Speaker of the House of Commons, it was not likely, under the contingency, that the Crown could obtain a tenant for it in the ordinary market; therefore it must remain unoccupied. Undoubtedly the convenience of the Speaker ought to be considered; and although that right hon. Gentleman was not the man to urge such an argument on the House yet his convenience would be taken into consideration by the House, and he would not be pressed to occupy a palace that he himself disliked. Having made the communication it would perhaps be better that the conversation should drop, and that before they adopted any resolution they should have in their possession all the details connected with the subject.
§ Lord Granville Somersetinformed the House that the present residence of the Speaker was taken by the late Government from certain agents of Lord Warwick. His Lordship, on returning from abroad, was discontented with the terms, and denied that the agents were authorised to let the house. But the Government considered on the one hand that the agents were authorised, and therefore the agreement was binding; and, on the other, that if the agents had assumed an authority with which they were not fully invested the fault was with them, and not with the Government. This determination was arrived at by the Go- 421 vernment, upon the grounds that the rent was moderate, and the agreement advantageous for the public.
§ The subject dropped.