The DUKE of BUCKINGHAMwished to know whether the information which he had moved for on a previous evening, relative to public works in Ireland, would shortly be produced?
§ The MARQUESS of LANSDOWNEsaid, that he had been in communication with Colonel Jones, who informed him that the most material facts referred to in the noble Duke's Motion were already printed in the blue book. The state of the works was varying daily, and therefore it was obviously impossible to make any satisfactory return upon that point, for a return for one week would give no idea of the state of things for the week preceding, or the one following. The clerks in the department were already overworked, and it was desirable not to impose upon them the obligation of making returns of information which was already before the House in another shape. The noble Marquess subsequently added, that he had made further inquiries respecting Captain Wynne's statement, and had to state to their Lordships, first, that the returns which had been moved for of the names of the men employed upon the public works in the county of Clare who had been struck off the lists by that officer, could not be furnished, for this very sufficient reason—that the relief committees did not take the names of all the men so employed, and consequently could not possibly furnish the names of those struck off; secondly, that Captain Wynne, although not now employed in that part of Ireland, was employed in another part, namely, in the county of Galway, where he had the entire confidence of Government. He felt bound also to state, in justice to Captain Wynne, that two officers, one belonging to the Navy and the other to the Army, had been employed as inspectors in the commissariat department in the county of Clare, and had fully corroborated the statement of Captain Wynne.
LORD BROUGHAMsuspected it would be less difficult to furnish the names of those who had not been employed on the public works than of those who had.