CLASS V.—COLONIAL, CONSULAR, AND OTHER FOREIGN SERVICES. (Hansard, 19 March 1878)

MR. GOLDSMID
desired some explanation of the two items mentioned in the explanatory Note— £3,200 for the special mission of the Earl of Rosslyn to Madrid to attend the marriage of the King of Spain, and £4,500 for the Duke of Ahercorn's special mission to Rome to invest His Majesty the King of Italy with the Insignia of the Order of the Garter. No one could have been more desirous than himself to see this country not only well but handsomely represented in the case of the late special mission of the Duke of Abercorn to one of the most promising of European countries, one that had done much for liberty, and one for which he was sure they all anticipated a great future. He did not object, therefore, to a fair amount of libe- 1607 rality in the Estimate. Still, things might be done too handsomely; and though he was informed that the ceremony of investing the King of Italy with the Insignia of the Order of the Garter was an expensive one, it seemed to him that £4,500 was a very large sum to pay for the journey of the Duke of Abercorn with a retinue of some 20 or 25 persons to Rome, his stay there for a few days, and his journey home again. He did not wish to go into details; but having had, on many occasions, to conduct a large family across the Channel, and to a very considerable distance across the Continent, he knew very well the cost of ordinary travelling, though, of course, he could not say what the cost of extraordinary travelling would be. At all events, he should like to hear some explanation of it from the hon. Gentleman the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. If the hon. Gentleman could assure him that not more had been spent than was reasonable and proper, he should be quite satisfied. He did not desire, by any means, that this country should be represented abroad in a mean or niggardly manner. Indeed, he did not think it was adequately represented on a recent occasion of great mourning in the House of Savoy. It was generally said that, for their shortcomings on the one occasion, Her Majesty's Government endeavoured to make up on the other. Now, to that principle he altogether objected. He thought Her Majesty's Government would have done better to have caused this country to be represented at the Funeral of the King of Italy by someone who could worthily have taken part in the ceremony along with the Crown Prince of Germany and the distinguished Representatives of other nations. With regard to the special mission of the Earl of Rosslyn, he would only say that some hon. Members would like to hear some explanations from the Under Seccretary of State for Foreign Affairs on that subject also.

§ MR. BOURKE
regretted that this country should not have been more fully represented on the occasion of the Funeral of the King of Italy, and that some disappointment should have been caused in the matter both here and in Italy. He thought it fortunate that an opportunity should so soon afterwards have occurred of showing that the friendly 1608 feelings between the two countries were as warm as ever; and he did not think the House would regret that that opportunity should have been taken advantage of. In regard to the ceremony in connection with the Garter, precedent had been strictly followed. The expenses af such a mission as the Duke of Abercorn's, designed, as it was, to worthily represent Her Majesty on a great occasion, and to testify to the friendly feelings existing between England and Italy, could not be estimated beforehand, and, therefore, a round sum of £4,500 was put down. The bills had not come in when the Estimate was printed; but, judging from those which had been received within the last few days, he believed the whole expenses of the mission would fall very far short of the sum mentioned in the Estimate. Probably £1,000 would be surrendered to the Exchequer. He might add that, notwithstanding the number of persons forming the suite of the Duke of Abercorn, only the expenses of four were charged upon the Estimate, and that the proper performance of the ceremonial rendered it necessary that the Ambassador should be accompanied by Garter King-at-Arms. The mission of the Earl of Rosslyn was of a peculiar character. Though there were a great many precedents for missions to invest Sovereigns with the Garter, there was an absence of such precedents for the mission to Spain. Sovereigns being usually married before they ascended the Throne, the Marriage of a King was a very rare occurrence. Moreover, there were circumstances connected with this Marriage of a special character, and of which Her Majesty's Government thought they ought to take notice. It was founded upon personal affection; and the Government thought it desirable to congratulate not only the King of Spain, but also the Spanish nation, upon an event which was likely to inaugurate a new state of things at the Spanish Court, and conduce to the best interests of Spain. Accordingly, the opportunity was taken for a warm expression of friendly feelings and congratulations, and an exchange of international courtesies. The expenses had been strictly looked into; but it was inevitable that they should be large. On arriving at Paris, the members of the mission had to provide themselves with horses and carriages, and these horses 1609 and carriages they had been obliged to take to Spain. He did not think that any expense had been incurred needlessly. Travelling was expensive in Spain; and it was essential to the main object of the mission that it should correspond with the ancient pomp of the Spanish Court, and with the representation of other countries on the occasion.

§ MR. KNATCHBULL-HUGESSEN
expressed satisfaction at the remarks of the hon. Gentleman the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. He (Mr. Knatchbull-Hugessen) had at first been somewhat staggered at the sum named in the Estimate, and he was glad to hear that it was beyond that which would actually be required. There could be but one feeling in the mind of the Committee and the country on the subject—that, although the expense, as it appeared in the Estimates, might seem great, it would have been more to be regretted if the mission had not been carried out in a manner consistent with the dignity of this country and the sincere good wishes which we entertained towards the Kingdom of Italy. He was bound to say that he, in common with many other persons in the country, felt some regret that on the death of King Victor Emmanuel some person intimately connected with Royalty was not sent to represent Her Majesty at the Funeral. He had, however, thought it undesirable to express that regret publicly in the House, being sure that no slight to Italy had been intended on that occasion; and it was gratifying to think that the Government had shown the desire which was undoubtedly entertained by this country to do all the honour it could to Italy, and to show its regard and esteem for the Italian Kingdom and people.

§ SIR EARDLEY WILMOT
observed that he believed he was the only Member of the House of Commons who had been present at the magnificent spectacle of the Funeral of King Victor Emmanuel. He called it magnificent, for in the whole course of his life, and having witnessed many State pageants, he had never seen any which would in any way bear comparison with it. He could not help expressing his warmest admiration and respect for the noble manner in which the Italian nation had, with a spontaneous and genuine mourning, performed the last obsequies to that 1610 great Sovereign whom they had revered and loved. He could not deny that he had heard general regret expressed at Rome, that the British nation had not been represented in that splendid procession by one of our own Royal Family, or—as had been done by France—by one of those distinguished Generals who had deserved well of our country; but, at the same time, from what he had heard, he did not consider that those expressions of regret had in any way weakened or lessened those cordial feelings of friendship and esteem with which England was regarded by the people of Italy; and, looking at those feelings, he could not help wishing that Her Majesty's Government would cement more closely their alliance with that young and daily becoming more powerful nation, whose influences extended into every part of the Mediterranean—a quarter in which we ourselves had such important interests. With regard to the mission of the Duke of Abercorn, the high compliment thus paid by our gracious Queen to the new King of Italy, as well as the Representatives selected to convey the honour to Rome, had, he had reason to believe, given very great satisfaction to the Royal Family of Italy, and to the Italian nation, and had entirely effaced and removed any regret the Italians might have felt on the occasion of the Funeral; and he (Sir Eardley Wilmot), for one, could not for a moment grudge the expenditure of the sum found in the Estimates—in fact, if it had been much larger, he would have gladly voted for it, if it had been necessary for the proper discharge of the duties of the mission.

§ MR. MONK,
who also disavowed any desire to see this country represented in a mean or niggardly way abroad, inquired why there was no mention in the Estimates of the mission of the Earl of Roden on the occasion of the death of Victor Emmanuel?

§ MR. W. H. JAMES
observed that the heavy expense of missions was often due in great part to the lavishness of servants and subordinates, who went to the best hotels, and, as he understood, had carte blanche for whatever entertainment they pleased to have. Nothing, he thought, could be more unfortunate than that an English Embassy should imitate the vulgar extravagance of the American tourist. Simplicity would be much more becoming. So far as Italy was concerned, 1611 we appeared to have oscillated between the two extremes.

§ MR. BOURKE
explained that the mission of the Earl of Roden did not appear in the Estimates, because it was one of personal respect on the part of Her Majesty.

§ MR. SHAW LEFEVRE,
observing that there was an item of £1,500 in this Vote for expenses connected with the proposed Commercial Treaty with France, asked what the present position of the negotiations was? He did not all complain of the amount of the Vote, which appeared to him extremely reasonable.

§ MR. BOURKE
stated that the negotiations were broken off at the request of the French Government some time ago, and that the French Government had not since shown any readiness to reopen them, owing, as they explained, to the extremely depressed state of trade in France at the present time. He wished he could hold out some immediate prospect of the negotiations being renewed; but, unfortunately, he was unable to do so.

§ MR. D. JENKINS
complained of the excessive charge made for pilotage in the Canal, and hoped the Government would call the attention of the Directors to the fact.

§ MR. BOURKE
said, the Government had had this question before them for some time. It was a difficult one to settle; but he could assure the hon. Member that the aim of the Government would be to secure the best terms possible.