§ LORD HOTHAMsaid, he wished to ask the Secretary of State for War his inten- 890 tions with respect to the defences of the river Humber; and in so doing to refer to a report made to the Master General of the Ordnance in 1854 by a committee of officers appointed to inquire into that subject. He asked this question for the purpose of removing a misconception which prevailed on this subject. He should have inquired into this matter had he now been sitting on the other side of the House. It was not the result of any pressure or local apprehension, but he made the inquiry on his own responsibility and in consequence of his having a knowledge of the locality to which he referred, and because he knew the opinion of those most able to form a correct opinion. The question was not purely a local question, but one interesting to every hon. Member whose constituents were engaged in trade and commerce with the North of Europe. In 1852 the state of the Humber attracted the attention of the Board of Ordnance, and the then Master General of the Ordnance considered it his duty to appoint a Committee to inquire into the matter. He appointed three officers well calculated from their position to form a correct opinion upon it. One was a colonel of artillery, the other a colonel of engineers, and the third a captain in the navy. Those gentlemen repaired to the spot, made an accurate examination into the matter referred to thorn, and reported upon the subject to the Master General of the Ordnance. Although he (Lord Hotham) had been for years aware of the contents of that report, he hoped his right hon. Friend (the Secretary fur War) and the House would understand and appreciate the reasons which prevented him from going into the details of that report. Suffice it for him to say, that of the recommendations of that Committee only a very small portion had been adopted. The question, therefore, he was anxious to put was, whether it was his intention to cause that report to be carried out. He would add—and no one would dissent from the statement—that whatever might have been thought necessary and desirable then could not be less necessary and desirable now. If his right hon. Friend should answer in the affirmative, of course he (Lord Hotham) should trouble him no further; but if his answer should be in the negative he hoped he would not object to state whether he refused to carry into effect the recommendations of that Com- 891 mittee for certain reasons of his own or through financial considerations. If the answer of his right hon. Friend should be, as he thought it would, in the negative, he should reserve to himself the right of pressing the subject when the House should be in Committee.
§ MR. S. HERBERTsaid, it was quite true that in 1854 a committee of officers had made a report recommending certain defences for the Humber. Since that time —in 1858, he thought—a further inquiry had been made, owing to the impracticability of carrying into effect one part of the proposals of the Committee of 1854. It had been at one time proposed to give a great armament to the citadel at Hull; but it was found that that would have an injurious effect upon the docks; therefore the plan was abandoned. It was also found that the citadel stood upon ground that did not belong to the Crown, and which was liable to be sold. But in 1858 the Committee had made several proposals for the defence of the Humber. One of those was that a battery of six guns should be placed on the right bank of the river. That battery was now completed. In the last Estimate a considerable sum had been taken by his predecessor in office for de-fending commercial ports. If that vote would bear a portion of the amount being applied to Hull, it certainly should be so applied. No one would underrate the immense importance of Hull, and of giving very early attention to it; and if he found that he could, consistently with his duty, appropriate any considerable portion of that Vote to its defence, he would do so. On the other hand, he would ask, if a large number of guns were to be mounted for the defence of the mercantile community in Hull, that the inhabitants of that and other places should contribute something towards the expense. He hoped, after what had fallen from the noble Lord, that he might consider that a fair bargain.
GENERAL PEELsaid, that although a sum of £300,000 had been voted for the purpose referred to, it had only been taken at the rate of about £12,000 a year; so that it would require twenty-five years to complete all those defences. It would be far better to decide at once what was actually necessary to be expended, and either borrow the money or raise it in some other way, spreading the repayment over the whole period. It was of no use going on voting a few pounds every year.