HC Deb 06 March 1860 vol 157 cc16-7
LORD JOHN RUSSELL

brought up a letter of the 24th of January last from Lord Cowley to Lord John Russell, and which had been omitted from the correspondence laid upon the Table relative to the annexation of Savoy and Nice to France.

SIR JOHN WALSH

said without having given the noble Lord the usual notice he would beg to ask him, Whether he will have any objection to lay upon the Table any additional Correspondence that may have reached the Foreign Office upon the same subject since the publication of the last Despatches?

LORD JOHN RUSSELL

, in reply, said, he could not avoid remarking upon the inconvenience of asking questions regarding Foreign Affairs without placing them on the Notice Papers, as was the case with questions of a domestic nature. It was certainly right that the same rule should be adhered to with respect to qeestions on Foreign Affairs, which were usually of a more delicate nature. He was not prepared to say whether he could lay any more papers on the Table on the subject referred to; but as soon as the Government had decided that it could be done with propriety, he should lose no time in producing them.

MR. DISRAELI

said, he desired also to inquire as to the production of certain private letters of Lord Cowley to the noble Lord, and which were referred to in the public Despatches.

LORD JOHN RUSSELL

was understood to say the private letters could not be produced, and desired to know for what object the right hon. Gentleman required them.

MR. DISRAELI

said, he would ask the question to-morrow, and state the reasons why he did so.