§ MR. RICHsaid, he wished to ask the right hon. Gentleman the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he was prepared to lay on the table a copy of the official document on which he founded a statement which was most satisfactory to the public—namely, that the latest official reports received from the Crimea at the time when he addressed the House, enabled him to assert that there were under arms 28,200 men, independently of the naval brigade and the marines, and exclusive of all the men in hospital at Balaklava or elsewhere. If the right hon. Gentleman would furnish that statement, he would afford great satisfaction both to that House and to the country.
THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUERsaid, he thought he need hardly acquaint the hon. Member that, in making that statement, he was acting upon Returns which were not under his own control, but which had been furnished him by the military departments, and he would rather not give any answer with respect to the production of those Returns until the Members of the Government more particularly interested had bad time to consider the question which plainly involved matters of great consequence. The hon. Member was, however, entirely mistaken in the expression that he had attributed to him, and had represented him as having said that there were 28,200 men under arms. That was not the expression he had used. What he had really said was that there 1375 were 28,200 men in the discharge of military duties before Sebastopol. He might now, perhaps, be permitted to advert to what was stated yesterday with respect to the order of business in the House. He thought there had then been a general impression in the House, if he could recall its right feeling, that it would not be desirable to proceed to any important business until his noble Friend the Member for Tiverton, who had accepted the office of First Lord of the Treasury, should have had an opportunity of submitting himself to his constituents after vacating his seat in that House. If his noble Friend should be re-elected, he could not with any certainty be expected to make his re-appearance in the House before the middle of next week. He thought, also, that the feeling was, that it would be very inconvenient that the House should meet merely for the purpose of despatching business of form, it being understood that no substantial business was to be brought before them during the time between the present time and the period at which they should re-assemble for the transaction of important business. He had said yesterday that there was a probability that, on account of the necessity of passing a Ways and Means Bill, to authorise a further issue of money for the services of the Navy and Ordnance, it might be requisite for the House to meet from day to day in a merely formal manner; but being anxious to spare the House that inconvenience, and also to relieve Mr. Speaker, on whose time and patience they had to make heavy draughts, the Government had looked carefully into the matter, and found that they would be able to make the necessary provision for the services, supposing that the House did not adjourn for a period more distant than next Friday week. What he proposed, therefore, was this—to give notice for the order of business for to-morrow week as follows:—The first subject to be taken should be the Navy Estimates; second, the Army Estimates; and then there should be notice of a Committee on the subject of the newspaper stamp. He put these three matters on the notice paper although he did not expect the House to get through all of them in one day. He had a confident expectation that the right hon. Baronet the First Lord of the Admiralty would then be in his place to move the Navy Estimates. It would be, he hoped, not inconvenient for the House to meet tomorrow for the purpose of pressing for- 1376 ward the money votes they had been obliged to submit for the immediate exigencies of the service; but as to-morrow was a Friday, it had appeared to them that it would be more convenient for the House to meet at twelve o'clock, as the business was purely of a formal nature. He should, therefore, move that Mr. Speaker do take the Chair to-morrow at twelve o'clock, and he should on that occasion move the adjournment of the House until Friday, the 16th of February.
§ Motion agreed to.