MR. MOFFATTbrought forward the Motion of which he had given notice. He said, in making this Motion, he had no intention to cast any slur upon the Board of Trade, but some alarm was felt in certain quarters in consequence of new and very extraordinary powers having been assumed by the Board of Trade with respect to the mercantile marine, and a desire was therefore felt to know who it was who really constituted the Board of Trade, and what were the functions of the board.
§
Motion made, and Question proposed—
That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, that She will be graciously pleased to give directions that there be laid before this House, Return showing the names of the Members of Her Majesty's Privy Council constituting the Committee appointed for the consideration of matters relating to Trade and Foreign Plantations; the functions of the said Committee; the number of Members of said Committee that con-
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stitute a quorum for the despatch of business; the number of times the Committee met in the twelve months ending the 31st day of December, 1849; the number of members of said Committee that attended each meeting.
§ MR. LABOUCHEREsaid, that if he objected to the return now moved for, it was not because he had the least desire to refuse information respecting the constitution and functions of the Board of Trade, but because there were no Parliamentary grounds made out for the production of this return, and because, if agreed to, it might form an inconvenient precedent. The functions of the Board of Trade had been very fully described by Mr. J. Lefevre in his evidence before the Miscellaneous Estimates Committee, and the information sought by the hon. Gentleman the Member for Dartmouth was, therefore, rather to be sought for there than furnished to the House in the shape of a return. At the same time, he would admit to the hon. Member that it was not the practice of the Board of Trade to transact business ordinarily as a board, following in this respect the practice of the Board of Control and the Poor Law Board. A great deal was done on the single responsibility of the President, and for ordinary purposes it consisted of the President and Vice-President of the Board; but on great and important questions the advice and assistance of the leading Ministers and other Members of the Government were called in.
MR. MOFFATTthought that the explanation just given by the right hon. Gentleman precluded the necessity for the return being made.
§ Motion, by leave, withdrawn.
§ The House adjourned at Twelve o'clock.