§ MR. HERRIESsaid, that, in the absence of the hon. Gentleman the Under Secretary of the Colonics, he took the liberty of applying to the noble Lord at the head of the Government on the subject of those extracts from papers of which, on several occasions, he had to ask the production. He did so in consequence of a question which had been addressed to the noble Earl at the head of the Colonial Department in another place. The noble Earl, in reply to that question, stated that the information which he had on that subject was derived from the Canadian newspapers, and that Lord Elgin, in a private letter, referred to the reports that appeared in various newspapers of the debates, and said that information would be derived from them. Now, on a former occasion, he (Mr. Herries) had suggested that possibly these extracts with respect to the Legislative 1372 Assembly of Canada might be in the possession of the Colonial Department, conveyed in some private letter. The noble Lord at the head of the Government was ignorant of the fact, as also, it appeared, was the Under Secretary for the Colonies, whom he acquitted of all insincerity in giving his reply. When Lord Brougham asked the noble Earl the Colonial Secretary, whether he had received any information from Canada, the noble Earl replied that all the information which had been officially received had been laid on their Lordships' table. When Lord Brougham then asked whether he was to understand the noble Earl to say that he had received no official or private despatch on this subject, the noble Earl stated, that all the information received had been derived from the Canadian newspapers, and that Lord Elgin, whilst sending private despatches, sent various newspapers containing reports of debates in the Assembly, from which the said information might be derived. Lord Brougham then remarked that it would appear that Lord Elgin had adopted the reports that appeared in the newspapers. Now what he (Mr. Herries) had asked for was, the production of those papers, authenticated by their transmission from Lord Elgin, and containing what would appear to be an account of what took place in the Legislature of Canada on the subject of this Bill, because upon those passages of the proceedings of the Legislative Assembly would depend, in his humble judgment, the degree in which Her Majesty's Government wore responsible for not having timely interfered with respect to the deplorable events which had occurred in Canada.
§ LORD J. RUSSELLI cannot correctly answer the right hon. Gentleman's question as to what has taken place in another House of Parliament; but what I have heard from Earl Grey is this—that Lord Elgin is generally in the habit of transmitting to him newspapers of any interest relating to Canadian affairs, and that he has received newspapers from Lord Elgin on this occasion, but without any reference, official or private, to them as containing correct accounts of what passed in the Canadian Assembly. I certainly should object to lay on the table a vast mass of reports of debates. I am told the persons who endeavour to give accurate reports in the House of Lords do not always succeed in doing so, owing to the difficulty of ascertaining correctly what passes there; and I do not think this House would adopt a very wise 1373 course if they took up a whole file of newspapers and proposed to come to resolutions upon what they found there stated. In any case whatever I do not feel myself answerable for the production of Canadian newspapers on either one side or the other.
§ MR. HERRIESwas not asking for de-hates, hut for extracts from the proceedings of the House of Assembly, such as had been laid on the table of the other House.
§ LORD J. RUSSELLwas aware that the former question of the right hon. Gentleman certainly did relate to Motions that had been entered properly on the journals of the House of Assembly. He did not know whether any of them could be taken from the Canadian newspapers, but would inquire.
§ Subject dropped.