§ MR. HENNESSYsaid, with respect to the correspondence on the subject of the passages made by Viscount Amberley in the Greek waters on board Her Majesty's ships Liffey and Phoebe, he wished to call the attention of the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to the circumstance that, at page 2, Lord Amberley was described as an attachœ, but he had failed to find the name of the noble Lord on the Foreign Office List. He wished, therefore, to ask the hon. Gentleman, The date of the nomination, the date of Lord Amberley's examination by the Civil Service Commissioners, and whether there is any objection to produce a Copy of the Certificate of the Civil Service Commissioners required by the Order in Council, stating Lord Amberley's fitness?
§ MR. LAYARDreplied that he was not responsible for the title which the commander of the vessel might have put after Lord Amberley's name, but Lord Amberley was acting at the time as Mr. Elliot's private secretary, and in that capacity he was attached to the Mission. It was a common practice for a Minister to appoint his own private secretary. They formed part of the Minister's suite. It was an entirely exceptional thing that Lord Amber-ley's name should be mentioned at all in the Return. On a former occasion he had pointed out that in the same Estimate many other journeys by Ministers and their suites were mentioned, and no names of the persons composing their suite were given as in this instance. That was the ordinary practice. There was altogether a wrong impression prevailing with regard to this Return. It was a simple matter. When vessels of war were employed to convey Her Majesty's diplomatic servants and their suites from one place to another, of course no passage-money was paid, but a small allowance was made to the commander of the vessel for table money if the journey was sanctioned by the Foreign Office. In this case as in all similar cases where such charges were in question the Admiralty wrote to the Foreign Office to know whether they sanctioned the journey, and on receiving an affirmative answer this allowance was granted,