§ MR. BAILIE COCHRANEwished to know from the hon. the First Lord of the Treasury, whether there would be any objection to lay on the Table the instructions to Sir E. Lyons with respect to the Greek loan. He wished to call the attention of the House to the declaration recently made by the Minister of Finance in Greece, that all interested in the loan should know what they might expect. The Minister for Finance, in addressing the Chamber of Deputies in Greece, said, that he had come 675 down to tell them that the treasury department was in a complete state of disorganization; that there were no accounts of the revenue or expenditure; and that he could not furnish anything in the shape of a budget, in consequence of the dishonesty of the public functionaries; that millions were due to the State, and he did not know from whom. This was the financial statement of the Greek Minister. He (Mr. Coehrane), therefore, wished to know whether the right hon. Gentleman was buoyed up with any hopes of getting any repayment of the loan to the Greek Government.
§ SIR ROBERT PEELsaid, that at any rate one thing might be said, namely, that the most frank and candid Chancellor of the Exchequer in Europe was to be met with in Greece. As for the interest of the debt, he had never been very sanguine on the subject. He proposed to lay on the Table of the House a statement as to the failure in making provision for the payment of the interest of the debt, and also the communications from Her Majesty's Government to the English Minister in Greece, and the answer received from the Government of that country. When those Papers were furnished, the House would see what was the state of our relations with that country.