§ LORD CLAUD HAMILTONsaid, he wished to ask the President of the Board of Control, on what day he proposes to make the usual annual statement on Indian Finance.
MR. VERNON SMITHsaid, that the practice of making an annual statement upon Indian Finance had arisen from a desire on the part of the House to direct its attention during one day in the Session to the state of affairs in India, and the wish to hear the President of the Board of Control explain the prospective Estimate of Indian Revenue and Expenditure. During the present Session the unfortunate events that had occurred in India had awakened the attention of Parliament, and upon two or three occasions the House had been occupied in discussing the affairs of India, Owing also to the confusion that had taken place in the north-western provinces any estimate of Indian Finance prepared before the recent mutiny must of course be perfectly fallacious. Under these circumstances, and considering the lateness of the Session, and the unlikelihood that hon. Members would remain in town to hear any statement he could make, the Government had determined not to bring forward this year the usual financial statement with regard to India.