§ MR. B. COCHRANE moved for returns of the attendance of the noble Lord the First Commissioner of Woods and Forests since the noble Lord (Lord Seymour) 576 came into office. (Votts and Proceedings, 55.)
LORD SEYMOURIf the hon. Member for Bridport has any charge against me for not having attended to my official duties, it would be only fair in him to state the reasons for moving for this return. If he has no such charge to prefer against me, I can see no reason for the granting of these returns. To some of the offices enumerated in the list, no salaries are attached. This Motion is founded on many misconceptions; for instance, the hon. Gentleman is mistaken in the assumption which he has made as to my connexion with the Commission of Fine Arts and the Council of the Duchy of Cornwall. I am a member of neither of these bodies. Then as to the office of Chief Justice in Eyre, that office is known to be a sinecure—hardly any duties are attached to it. Then as to asking for a return of my attendance on the Commission of Geological Survey, the hon. Gentleman might as well ask what portion of my time I devote to any other public office with which I am connected. If any business is brought before the Geological Museum, of course I attend to it. I could not furnish the return for which the hon. Gentleman has moved. If the hon. Gentleman has any charge against me of not having attended to my public duties, I am quite prepared to meet it; but I think the attempt to furnish such a return as he has moved for would be mere waste of time.
§ MR. B. COCHRANEI certainly want to know how often the noble Lord has attended the sittings of the Board of Health. I believe the noble Lord has attended them but seldom. I shall divide the House upon this Motion.
§ MR. DISRAELIhoped that his hon. Friend would not attempt to divide the House. His hon. Friend, he hoped, would feel that he had already accomplished his object. He (Mr. Disraeli) was bound to say, that the noble Lord (Lord Seymour) was one of the most valuable Members of the Administration. He had had opportunities, when sitting with the noble Lord upon Committees, of observing with what sedulousness he attended to his public duties. He (Mr. Disraeli) did not wish to give any opinion, upon that occasion, as to the expediency of accumulating duties upon one individual, although that, no doubt, was the point to which his hon. Friend addressed himself, when making his Motion. He trusted that the House would not be called upon to divide.
§ LORD JOHN RUSSELLI certainly shall object to the return in the shape now proposed.
§ Motion, by leave, withdrawn.
§ The House adjourned at half after Twelve o'clock.