§ SIR WALTER B. BARTTELOTsaid, that the right hon. Gentleman the First Lord of the Treasury was reported to have made a statement last night, with regard to the Tamatave affair, that he had received despatches which altered the whole complexion of the matter, as it appeared when he made his statement to the House. He would like to ask, Whether the right hon. Gentleman can state to the House the purport of the despatches from Tamatave to which he referred last night; whether he can state who sent the telegram which first misled Her Majesty's Government; and, 2115 whether the despatches in their correct form can be laid upon the Table of the House?
MR. GLADSTONEsaid, that there had not been time for the perusal of the despatches by Her Majesty's Government; and, therefore, it would be impossible for him to make any answer to the Question whether the despatches could be presented to the House. All that he stated last night was substantially this—that the Government always anticipated, even from the imperfect and very brief information in their possession, that the spirit of the two Governments would be equal to dealing with the circumstances; that there was nothing in them which would lead to a misunderstanding, or to any interruption of the good understanding which happily united both England and France; that that impression was greatly confirmed by the more enlarged information with which Her Majesty's Government were now supplied; and that what they had, in the nature of additional evidence, confirmed what he had already stated.