§ THE EARL OF DERBYMy Lords, in reference to the conversation which took place in your Lordships' House yesterday between my noble Friend opposite (Earl Granville) and myself, permit me to say that even at this moment I am quite at a loss to clear up the contradiction between his statement and mine touching the communication alleged to have passed between the President of the Board of Control and the Peninsular and Oriental Company. I have ascertained to-day that the Managing Director of that Company, on whose authority I made that statement, is still absent in Paris. He has, however, been written to to-day, and I hope by Thursday or Friday, at the latest, I shall be able to throw further light on the matter. I shall then, I trust, either be able to satisfy the House and my noble Friend opposite that the President of the Board of Control labours under some defect of memory on this subject, or I shall be in a position, if it turn out that I have been misinformed, to offer an apology, which I shall do most cheerfully, and which I hope will be satisfactory to the House.
§ EARL GRANVILLEI disclaim the slightest wish, my Lords, to impute to the noble Earl any intentional misstatement of the facts in the matter in dispute; but there is some extraordinary misunderstanding on the part of some of the parties concerned, which it would be most satisfactory to have cleared up.