§ Sir R. Peelsaid, that not seeing the noble Lord, the Secretary for the Foreign Department, in his place, he begged, instead of putting a question to the noble Lord, the Secretary for the Colonies, with respect to the present condition of the Jewish population of Damascus, to make an appeal to the British Government to exercise such influence as it could exercise, in order to ensure to those persons impartial justice. He would, however, ask a question of the noble Lord, the Secretary for the Colonies. He had seen in the public papers a document which purported to be a dispatch from the Governor-general of Jamaica. In that dispatch there was a passage, which was an extract from the address of the Governor-general to the Speaker and the Gentlemen of the House of Assembly and the Gentlemen of the Council, in which the Governor-general congratulated them upon the happy termination of the Session, during which they had eminently manifested their loyalty to the Queen, and their earnest desire to meet the views of her Majesty's advisers, as well as their devotion to their public duties. The Governor also expressed his sincere gratification at the determination which they had evinced to adapt their 1306 constitution to the altered position of society. He wished to ask the noble Lord, whether this document was authentic?
§ Lord John Russellsaid, that on the subject first adverted to by the right hon. Baronet, he could only say, that it had received great attention from his noble Friend (Lord Palmerston), and he had no doubt his noble Friend would give the same answer to the right hon. Baronet when he was present. With regard to the second question, he believed that the document referred to by the right hon. Baronet was a faithful counterpart of the Governor's speech. He must add, that her Majesty's Government felt great gratification, upon the whole, with the conduct of the House of Assembly of Jamaica.
§ Sir R. Peelsaid, that the object of his first question was not to impute any blame whatever. He had risen merely to state that he had received accounts of shameful cruelties having been inflicted upon the Jews of Damascus; and he thought that the British House of Commons was not an unfit place to make an appeal to the British Government to exercise whatever influence it possessed to ensure an impartial administration of justice. Tortures had been inflicted upon that unfortunate people, he feared with the connivance of some Christian authorities, which reflected disgrace and dishonour on the age in which we lived.