§ Mr. Humebegged leave to ask the right hon. the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether it was true, as had been reported, that his Majesty's Government had agreed to contribute towards the relief of the distress prevailing in the north of Scotland?
§ The Chancellor of the Exchequersaid, that he did not like to answer questions of that nature prematurely; and he was sure his hon. Friend, the Member for Middlesex, would allow that if there ever was a subject which required to be treated with more discretion than another, it was that to which the question he had just put referred. However, as the question had been put, he would answer it; and if the answer was not as full as his hon. Friend might wish, his hon. Friend must impute it to the cause to which he (the Chancellor 925 of the Exchequer) had just adverted. What the reports on the subject were he did not know; but it was certainly true that, about a month ago, his Majesty's Government were made aware of the fact that great distress existed in certain parts of Scotland. They were also told at the game time that great efforts were making in Scotland to alleviate the distress; that committees had been formed in Edinburgh and Glasgow for that purpose; and that considerable subscriptions had consequently been raised; but that the pressure was still so great that public assistance was absolutely necessary. Under these circumstances his Majesty's Government had thought it their duty to institute a full inquiry into all the circumstances upon the spot, and to send to Scotland for that purpose some responsible individual, some person of experience, and in whom implicit confidence could be placed. That valuable officer of the public, Sir John Hill, was selected for the mission; and he was authorised to place himself in communication with the committees, and to afford aid in extreme cases, dependent, however, entirely upon the amount of subscriptions, and upon local benevolence and assistance. He could go into no further explanation at present; and he hoped no further discussion would at present be provoked, as it might lead to the most injurious consequences; but if, at a fitting time, the hon. Member for Middlesex, or any other hon. Gentleman, should think proper to bring the subject under the consideration of the House, he should be perfectly prepared to defend the conduct which had been pursued by his Majesty's Government.
§ Mr. Humeallowed, that if Parliament had not been sitting, his Majesty's Government would have been justified in taking the course which they had taken; but, during the sitting of Parliament, he did not think there was the slightest ground for such a proceeding. The House ought to have had notice of the transaction before the public money was appropriated to such a purpose. He hoped the right hon. Gentleman would take an early opportunity of laying on the table of the House the documents which, in his (the Chancellor of the Exchequer's) opinion, warranted the step which had been taken by his Majesty's Government.
§ The Chancellor of the Exchequerstated, that on the whole his Majesty's Govern- 926 ment thought they had done as much as they ought on the subject. Adverting to the observations which had been made by the hon. Member for Middlesex on the conduct of his Majesty's Government in sending relief to the distressed districts of Scotland, he denied that they had acted in any way contrary to usage. He repeated, that he should be quite ready to defend the conduct of Government upon the subject whenever the proper time should arrive for doing so; but that to be called upon on that day to proclaim to the House and to all the world the precise course which they were pursuing was to be called upon to do that than which nothing could be more likely to prejudice the object which they all had in view. The hon. Member for Middlesex seemed to think that the course which had been pursued by his Majesty's Government was unusual and objectionable. It was exactly the course which had been pursued in all other cases—in the case of distress in the Hebrides, in the case of distress in Ireland, and in fact in all cases of a similar description.