THE EARL OF DONOUGHMOREsaid, the greatest possible anxiety existed amongst commercial men to know the terms of the treaty which had lately been entered into by Her Majesty with the Emperor of the French. The treaty was 557 ratified on Saturday last, and was to have been brought before the other House that evening with the Budget, but an unfortunate circumstance had prevented the Chancellor of the Exchequer making his financial statement. He, however, could not see why that circumstance should prevent the production of the treaty, and he hoped the noble Earl opposite (Earl Granville) would not object to lay it on their Lordships' table. But if any reason did exist for the non-production of the treaty at present, which he confessed he did not see, perhaps the noble Earl would state whether the summary of the treaty which had appeared in L' Indépendence Beige, and been republished by some London journals, gave, on the whole, a fair and correct representation of its provisions.
§ EARL GRANVILLEregretted that the noble Earl had not given earlier notice of his Question, as in that case he might have been pressed to give a satisfactory answer; but at present all he could state in answer was that, not being a subscriber to the Indépendance Beige, he could not say whether the résumé referred to was correct or not. The unfortunate indisposition of the Chancellor of the Exchequer having rendered it necessary to postpone the financial statement, it was thought best to defer the production of the treaty until the whole subject could be brought under the notice of Parliament.
§ THE EARL OF DERBYsaid, he could not acquiesce in the doctrine that it was necessary to postpone the production of an important paper because the Chancellor of the Exchequer was unable to make his financial statement. No doubt if it were produced beforehand it would take off the gloss from a portion of the facts which the right hon. Gentleman had to announce, but the public advantage in reference to the discussion upon the Budget itself, as well as the state of public affairs generally, were in favour of having so important a treaty laid on the table at the earliest possible period, in order that there might be ample time for the fullest consideration of it in all its bearings—financial, commercial, and political. He therefore hoped that if the treaty were in the possession of the Government, they would not wait until the Budget was brought forward before making it known to their Lordships.
§ EARL GRANVILLEsaid, however desirable it might he that the treaty should be considered without delay, not only in its commercial, hut in its political aspect, 558 it was also clearly very desirable that the public should be enabled to judge of all the facts laid before them at one and the same time.
§ LORD MONTEAGLEthought that whatever information they got with regard to the treaty should be complete, and not in a shape which would only puzzle and mislead.
§ House adjourned at Six o'clock, till To-morrow half-past Ten o'clock.