§ The Duke of Wellington, seeing the noble Secretary for the Colonies in his place, wished to be informed if the noble Viscount could explain how it happened that the proclamation respecting the Colonies, which had been agreed upon by his Majesty in Council in June 1831, did not reach the Governor General of Jamaica until the 22nd of December in that year, and the causes why it had not been made public?
§ Viscount Goderich, in answer to the question of the noble Duke, said, that the Order in Council had been sent to Jamaica, as well as to all the other Colonies, in the course of the last Summer. It was accompanied by a despatch, which empowered the Governors to distribute the proclamation, if they considered that the existing circumstances in each island required it; but the despatch, at the same time, intimated that there might be prudential reasons why that course might not be desirable. It was sent to Jamaica in May or June, and the Governor received it in July; and he stated, in his acknowledgement of its arrival, that there was nothing in the circumstances which then prevailed in the island to make the issuing of the proclamation advisable but he sent to the different Magistrates extracts of the despatch which accompanied the order, by which means all the proper persons were made acquainted with the extent of the authority vested in the Governor's hands. Lord Belmore did not issue the order itself; and certainly he (Viscount Goderich) was bound to say, that, under the circumstances, he approved of the course pursued by that officer.
§ The Duke of Wellingtonwas desirous of ascertaining if a copy of the despatch, and of the correspondence with the Governor, could be laid on the Table.
§ Viscount Goderichsaid, as he was at present advised, he could see no objection to produce the despatch; but with regard to the correspondence, he must look into it, to see if the whole, or extracts, could properly be placed on the Table, before he could answer the question of the noble Duke.