§ MR. WHALLEYput the following Question to the First Lord of the Admiralty:—Whether he is prepared to contradict certain unfounded statements which had appeared in the Continental newspapers, and thence copied into English papers, as to the proceedings of the Commander of the Fleet in 1259 the Mediterranean, and particularly the following:—
That Lord Clarence Paget, the Commander of the Fleet in the Mediterranean, in passing through Rome, requested an audience of the Holy Father, which was granted, and lasted above an hour; and, afterwards, that he directed his way to the Farnese Palace, where His Majesty Francis II. granted him an audience, as desired.He was himself in a position to state there was not a word of truth in it, but it was desirable that it should receive official contradiction.
LORD HENRY LENNOXsaid, it appeared to him to be quite unnecessary to give any answer to the hon. Gentleman; for not only had he answered his own question, but he was fully answered before he put the question on the Paper. It was not, however, a question which the Admiralty could answer, because if Lord Clarence Paget visited Rome in his private character there would necessarily be no record of it at the Admiralty. If Lord Clarence Paget had gone to Rome no doubt he would have done what other distinguished visitors did when there, pay his respects to the Head of the country in which he found himself. Knowing how sensitive the hon. Member was on all matters connected with Rome, he was happy to be able to inform him that his (Lord Henry Lennox's) noble relative had not been near that city. By a curious coincidence, Rome was the only Court he had not visited. He went from Marseilles to visit the King of the Greeks, and he was now on a visit on which, it was to be hoped, the hon. Gentleman would feel no alarm, to the Sultan at Constantinople.
§ Motion, by leave, withdrawn.
§ Committee deferred till Monday next.