HC Deb 05 March 1860 vol 156 cc2285-6

Order for Committee read.

House in Committee.

MR. HOPE

said, he should like to know what would be the effect of the passing of this Bill on the labours of the Select Committee upstairs? If the Government were able to deal with the subject so much the better; but if they were, he trusted that the labours of the Committee would not be unnecessarily prolonged by their being called upon to go into the part of the inquiry embraced by this Bill.

MR. LAING

said, that the question involved in this Bill had been brought before the Committee on Packet Contracts, and their opinion was that as this proposal merely provided for the transfer of the contracts from one department to another, and did not involve the mode in which the contracts were entered into, the Government might take upon themselves to deal with it.

MR. HOPE

said, that as a Member of the Committee he was in a position to state that what they had declared was that if the Government thought fit to take the subject into their hands the Committee would leave it with them.

Clause 1.

SIR CHARLES NAPIER

said, he was exceedingly glad the Government had decided upon taking the Packet Service contracts into their own hands, and out of the hands of the Board of Admiralty. He thought if the Government would make a regulation that no man should belong to the Packet Service vessels unless he belonged to the reserve it would be well for the service, and there would be no difficulty in the matter.

Clause agreed to; as were the remaining Clauses.

House resumed.

Bill reported without amendment.

To be read 3° To-morrow.