THE EARL OF THE ELLENBOROUGHIt will be in the recollection of your Lordships that about three weeks ago I put a question to the noble Lord the Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs as to the position in which the differences between 319 the Government of Denmark arid Holstein then stood. The noble Lord gave what appeared to me to be a very full and clear answer to the question; but, unfortunately, one passage in that answer has given rise to great misconstruction and misunderstanding in Denmark and Holstein, and I am sure that the noble Lord will be glad to have an opportunity of clearing up the subject. I shall explain in a very few words what is the point on which misapprehension exists. The noble Lord stated that Her Majesty's Government had received intimation that morning that the King of Denmark had made a concession to the States of Holstein, which had been suggested, not only by our own Government, but also by the Governments of Russia and France. He said it was originally intended by the Government of Denmark that the States of Holstein should only enter into possession of the power of considering the Budget at the expiration of the term to which the Budget already granted by the sovereign authority extended—namely, 1862. The concession, as I understood, was that the States of Holstein should be admitted at once to the possession of that power. The misunderstanding appears to have arisen from an impression being conveyed that the concession went to the extent that the whole Budget of the Monarchy should be submitted to the States of Holstein. That apparently was impossible, and it is unreasonable in itself, as it would give to the States of Holstein a veto over the whole financial condition of the kingdom. It appears that in consequence of some expression used by the noble Lord being misunderstood, an interpretation has been put on the statement made by him different from that which I placed upon it; and I now rise to give the noble Lord an opportunity of making some explanation on the subject.
LORD WODEHOUSEI am extremely obliged to the noble Earl for affording me an opportunity of removing a very singular misapprehension that has arisen of what I stated to the House on a former occasion. The noble Earl correctly understood what I said. The question was as to the quota to be paid by Holstein. The original proposal was that the arrangement should apply only to the quota as regards the year after 1862; but a subsequent concession was made by which the Holstein States should have the power of giving their vote as to the quota which was to be paid for 320 the years preceding 1862. That is the statement which I made, and which I am happy to say the noble Earl perfectly understood. But, as the noble Earl has said, it has been supposed in Denmark and Holstein that I stated that the whole Budget of the Danish Monarchy was to be submitted to the Holstein States. That would be a proposition of a very extraordinary and unreasonable nature, as the noble Earl has said. I knew perfectly the nature of the advice given by the Government of this country, and also by Russia and France, as to the quota which Holstein should pay towards the expenses of the Danish Government; and, knowing what that advice was, it was, of course, impossible I could inform your Lordships that the Danish Government had agreed to a proposition of a totally different character—namely, that the whole Budget of the Danish Monarchy should be submitted to the Holstein States. I might content myself with making this short explanation to the House; but, as much misapprehension has existed on the subject, it is perhaps necessary that I should state more at length how the matter now stands. The misunderstanding of what I said clearly arose from the use of an expression which, taken by itself, might have been considered inaccurate, but taken in conjunction with the other expressions I made use of ought not to have led to any misapprehension. The expression I employed was reported in the papers the next morning with the usual accuracy; but of course I was speaking not of the whole Budget, but only of the quota which applied to a particular year. It may be as well that I should very shortly explain what the proposal of the Danish Government was, as I understood it. The Danish Government sent a communication to the Holstein States, in which they proposed a provisional law, called a draught of the law on the provisional state of Holstein, with reference to the common affairs of the Danish Monarchy. That draught was submitted, by a Resolution of the King of Denmark, dated March 2, 1861, to the Holstein States. It is a document of an important character, and paragraph 13 is as follows:—
To cover the common expenses of the Monarchy, a fixed annual contribution is to be made by the separate Treasury of Holstein: its amount can only be increased with the sanction of the Diet of the Duchy, namely:—The Civil List, 173,000 rixdollars; the appanages to the members of the Royal Family, 80,000 rixdollars; the Privy Council, 15,000 rixdollars; interest on and 321 liquidation of the National Debt, 1,187,000 rixdollars; Ministry for Foreign Affairs, 52,000 rixdollars; Ministry of Marine, 440,000 rixdollars; Ministry of Finance (including expenses of the Monarchy hitherto appearing in the Budget as incidentals), 133,000 rixdollars.After this follows a provision for the payment of a share of common pensions, and for the eventuality of a reduction of the National Debt, and the text then continues—The regulations in our Royal Patent of the 23rd of September, 1859, respecting the amount payable by the Duchy of Holstein, to cover the expenses of the Monarchy during the financial period from the 1st of April, 1860, to the 31st of March, 1862, shall serve as a guide for the financial period from April 1, 1861, to March 31, 1862.That was the proposal submitted by the King of Denmark to the Holstein States. But there has been a misunderstanding on the subject. The intelligence received by Her Majesty's Government was to the effect that, whereas the Holstein States were not at first to have submitted to their approval the Budget of 1861–62, the Danish Government subsequently consented to do so. The Danish Government declared that it had been their intention from the first to submit the quota for 1861–62 to the Holstein States for their consideration, and that on that point there had been a misapprehension. A declaration on the subject made by the Danish Government has not been, according to the newspapers, considered sufficient by the Holstein States; but we have not received any official intelligence on the subject, and, therefore, I cannot say to what extent that is correct. I can only say, in conclusion, that I regret I should by any want of clearness of expression have led any one to suppose that the facts were different from what they really were; but I am sure that those of your Lordships who have paid attention to the Holstein dispute must know that, looking to the voluminous nature of the documents of all kinds—to the declarations, proclamations, resolutions, and what not, it would not have been surprising if I had fallen into an inaccuracy, though I do not admit that any inaccuracy was committed by me. Your Lordships will perhaps allow me to take this opportunity of expressing my hope that moderate counsels may yet prevail, and that an amicable termination of the differences on this matter may yet be arrived at.
§ THE EARL OF ELLENBOROUGHsaid, he did not think that any one could find 322 fault with the noble Lord for want of clearness, or that he had any reason to complain of himself. Any one who had read the Report of the particular passage of the noble Lord's speech, and compared it with the context, would come to no other conclusion as to what he meant than that which the noble Lord had now stated. He had, however, heard with the greatest possible satisfaction the statement of the noble Lord, because nothing could he more serious than that the slightest imputation should rest on the honour of the Danish Government in this transaction. That imputation, which had been apparently cast upon that Government was now entirely removed. He concurred with the noble Lord in the hope that there may be a speedy solution of those difficulties; but he would also express his hope that the English Government would in the most courteous, but in the strongest and most earnest terms, enforce upon the Diet, and the Prussian Government especially that the integrity and independence of the Danish territories must be maintained; and that the peace of Europe must not be disturbed. In various parts of Europe—in Italy, Hungary, and Poland—circumstances were arising which might lead to difficulty and embarrassment; but there was not anything that could afford a justifiable cause for war, and woe to the Power by which it was provoked.