THE MARQUESS OF HARTINGTONwished to put a Question to the right hon. Gentleman the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to a conversation that took place yesterday regarding the Indian Budget. The Chancellor of the Exchequer was asked whether he would agree to introduce the Indian Budget on the Motion that the Speaker do leave the Chair, and would allow discussion in the ordinary manner. He under-stood the Chancellor of the Exchequer to say that he preferred that the statement should be made in Committee on the Resolution referring to the Loan. He wished to ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Whether, taking into consideration what had fallen from Mr. Speaker, and also the strong feeling entertained in some quarters of the House upon the propriety of that course, he could see his way to adopt the more ordinary and regular course, and to arrange that the Indian Budget should be made upon the Motion that the House should go into Committee on the Indian Accounts, and not in the exceptional manner which he proposed yesterday?
§ THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUERsaid, it was very far indeed from the wish of Her Majesty's Government to proceed in any exceptional manner with reference to the Indian Budget. But what he wished to point out to the House yesterday, and would again remind them of, was this—there was an important financial proposal with reference to India which required the passing of a Bill for the purpose of raising a loan. It was necessary, in the first instance, to have a Committee of the House. In that Committee a Resolution would 238 be passed upon which the Bill would be founded, which would subsequently pass through all its stages. That was a matter upon which there would naturally be some discussion, and he observed that the hon. Member for Kirkcaldy (Sir George Campbell) had given Notice to raise the question of the amount of the loan in that stage of the preliminary Committee, not upon the Loan Bill itself; and, therefore, he (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) was afraid that if they proceeded first by taking a discussion upon the Budget that, possibly, would run even more than one night upon Indian Finance generally, and were not allowed to make any progress with the Loan Bill, considerable delay would occur. If he could see his way to any arrangement by which that might he avoided, he should be very glad to make an arrangement. He would suggest that after the discussion had taken place on the Indian Budget, and the House had decided upon the Motion of the hon. Member for Hackney (Mr. Fawcett), they should be allowed to take the preliminary stage of the Loan Bill without further delay and discussion; and if his hon. Friend the Member for Kirkcaldy would postpone till a later stage of the Bill the question which he proposed to raise, he (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) would take care to bring it on at such a time as would afford ample time for discussion. The House would see that, in making this proposal, he wished to deal as fairly as possible with those who were interested in the matter.
§ SIR GEORGE CAMPBELLsaid, his difficulty was that the first stage of the Indian Loans Bill would be the passing in Committee of a Resoultion to the effect that it was desirable to raise this loan of £10,000,000. This would distinctly pledge the House to the expediency of raising the loan. He was quite willing, however, to agree to the suggested arrangement, provided it was clearly understood that they did not bind themselves to the principle involved in the Resoultion, and that he would be at liberty to raise the question of which he had given Notice on the Motion for the second reading of the Bill. He might take this opportunity of saying that if the Resoultion of the hon. Member for Hackney (Mr. Fawcett) was moved, inasmuch as it must inevitably be accepted by the Government, he (Sir George 239 Campbell) would move an Amendment to the effect—
That this House regards with apprehension the state of the finances of India, and is of opinion that it is not sufficiently controlled, Her Majesty's Government having disregarded the letter and spirit of the provisions of the Act for the better government of India on that subject.
§ THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUERsaid, the Resoultion which the Government would propose would be a Resoultion, not to raise £10,000,000, but to raise any sum of money not exceeding £10,000,000. Therefore, the hon. Gentleman would not be compromised by the passing of it.