§ LORD STANLEY OF ALDERLEYrose to put a Question with reference to the Report of the Commissioners on Manning the Navy, which had just been presented to both Houses of Parliament by order of Her Majesty. It was usual to annex, to the Report a copy of the Commission under which the Commissioners acted, so that it might be seen what were the powers given them by the Commission, He observed that that was not done in the present case, and he wished to know why it was omitted. He also observed that the Report was not signed by all the Commissioners. The signature of Mr. Lindsay, one of the most active and intelligent Members of the Commission, was wanting; and he wished to know why this was the case?
§ THE EARL OF HARDWICKEsaid, that the object of the Government was to place the Report of the Commission on the tables of the two Houses with all possible speed, and that immediately it had been received by the Secretary of State it had been presented to Her Majesty, and had been then laid at once upon the table. If any informality had been committed by a copy of the Commission itself not having been presented with the Report, that should be remedied, it should be printed in the Appendix to the Report. The Report and Appendix should be immediately laid before Parliament in a complete shape. With regard to the second Question, he understood that Mr. Lindsay had declined to sign the Report and had drawn up a paper of his own on the subject. He begged to add that that also should be placed in the Appendix. The reason why it had not appeared with the Report, was, as he said before, the great anxiety that the Government felt that the Report should be in the hands of Members before the Navy Estimates were proposed.
§ LORD STANLEY OF ALDERLEYsaid, he had no doubt that the noble Lord would recollect the course that had been taken in 757 other cases where some Members of the Commission had disagreed with the Report; and that course could be followed in the present instance.