§ VISCOUNT MILTONsaid, he wished to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Whether he has any objection to lay upon the Table of the House a Statement disclosing the amount paid to the Crown, by the Hudson's Bay Company under the statute of the 4th William and Mary, chapter 15, in respect of Rupert's Land, and when such payments ceased to be made; and also the amount of rent received under Licences granted in and pursuant to the Act 1 and 2 George IV., chapter 66, for the purpose of enabling such company to trade in the Saskatchwan and Red River Territories; as also to lay upon the Table of this House Copies of any licences that may have been granted in pursuance of the last-mentioned statute up to the present time?
§ MR. STANSFELDsaid, he would endeavour to answer his noble Friend's Question—
§ VISCOUNT MILTONI beg your pardon. I asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
§ MR. STANSFELDnot giving way, Viscount MILTON left the House.
§ MR. STANSFELDsaid, in the absence of the noble Lord he would, for the satisfaction of the House, answer the Question which had been put. The noble Lord's Questions were not always very easy to answer, and not always easy to understand. But with regard to the first Question, he had referred to the statute in question, and had also taken the trouble to refer to the accounts so far as he could, and the receipts during the period referred to, which was 180 years ago. By the statute of William and Mary, a tax, he believed of £5 per share, was to be levied for one year upon the Hudson's Bay Company shares. But he had been unable, from the details which existed, to find anything that would enable him to answer the Question of the noble Lord, and he thought it highly improbable that details and receipts, cal- 969 culated to furnish what the noble Lord required, should have been preserved for so long a period. The noble Lord asked for the amount of rent received under the licences, and, as far as his researches enabled him to arrive at a conclusion in the matter, he believed that the company required no licence to trade in the Saskatchwan and the Red River Territories, because that portion was covered by the original charter of the company. Lastly, the noble Lord inquired whether there was any objection to lay copies of licences upon the Table. The only objection was that they saw no possible good in complying with the request.