LORD BROUGHAMbegged to ask the noble Lord opposite whether he was not in possession of farther information from Canada with respect to what had taken place in the General Assembly, and whether it was true, as he understood it to be, that the Government had succeeded in cutting down the indemnity as far as two classes were concerned, who were now included in the Bill, and that all persons were now to be excluded from the indemnity who had ever been convicted, or who, not being convicted or tried, had yet submitted themselves to the law, and been in the custody of the sheriff and transported? Perhaps the noble Lord would have no objection to state whether that rumour was well-founded or otherwise.
§ EARL GREYsaid, that the whole of the information which he had officially received was contained in the papers on their Lordships' table; whatever else he might know had been derived merely from the perusal 1149 of the reports of the debates in the Canadian Legislature, which were as accessible to the noble and learned Lord as to himself. He must, therefore, decline giving any further answer to the question of the noble and learned Lord. Indeed, it would be impossible to give any answer to the question which would not be likely to lead to an erroneous impression, unless he went into an explanation of some length; and that he did not feel it proper to do.
LORD BROUGHAMwas to understand, then, that there was not only no despatch, but no private official communication from the Governor of Canada upon the subject?
§ EARL GREYbegged to repeat that all the information which he possessed upon the subject had been derived from the Canadian newspapers. Lord Elgin, when sending to him some private despatches, transmitted various newspapers containing the debates in the Canadian Legislature, and it was from those papers that he (Earl Grey) obtained his information.