QUESTION. (Hansard, 5 December 1867)

§ EARL RUSSELL
, who had given notice to ask the First Lord of the Treasury, "Whether he has any Objection to produce the Correspondence with the Government of The Emperor of the French respecting a Conference on the Affairs of Rome," and if there is any objection to produce the Correspondence "whether he will state what has passed on the Subject of any such proposed Conference?" said, the Question of which I have given notice with regard to any Correspondence which has passed on the subject of the proposed Conference I wish to ask, not from any feeling of distrust towards Her Majesty's Government, but from a feeling that, as Parliament will shortly separate, not to re-assemble till the month of February, we ought to have some information about the intentions of the Government on this important subject. We were told some time ago by foreign newspapers that it was intended on the part of the Emperor of the French to invite the Foreign Powers of Europe to a Conference on the state of affairs abroad; and since then we have heard that not only the greater Powers, but some of the smaller ones—the Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt among others—have been invited and have given their concurrence. A report also has recently appeared of a speech by the French Minister for Foreign Affairs, in which he states that he has written to the Government of Italy; and the despatch sums up by saying— We have evacuated Rome. One of our divisions is recalled to France, and the French Government sincerely desires to recall the other division, which is being concentrated at Civita Vecchia. But before the evacuation can be completely effected, the security of the Holy See must be assured. The meeting of the Conference being the basis, the principal element, if it is not the unique element, of that security, the Italian Government have every interest that the Conference should come together at the earliest possible period. In another newspaper, The Times, the matter is stated thus— 600 Before the evacuation could be completely effected, it was necessary that the security of the Holy Father should be guaranteed. Now, if the Conference is merely to meet and express sympathy with the Holy Father, one does not understand how that sympathy would give him any security at all with respect to his temporal dominions; and, on the other hand, if it is proposed that there should be a guarantee, and that the Powers of Europe should interfere by force, if necessary, in order to secure the temporal dominions of the Pope against all who may attack him—against even his own subjects, the people of the Roman territory—that is a very serious proposition, and one to which, I am sure, no English Minister could assent. I wish to ask the noble Earl, Whether any such document has been communicated to Her Majesty's Government as is said to have been communicated to the Italian Government; and, in fact, what is the position of this country with, regard to accepting or declining an invitation to any Conference?

§ THE EARL OF DERBY
I am sorry to say that I cannot give the noble Earl much information, as the negotiations for a Conference appear to have come to a pause. At all events, as far as this Government is concerned, they have not advanced any further than when I last had the honour of addressing your Lordships on this subject. The question, as far as this country is concerned, stands thus:—My noble relative (Lord Stanley) had answered the French communication to the effect that it would give us very great pleasure to lend any assistance towards putting an end to a very difficult and dangerous question; but, on the other hand, he retained the opinion that it would be useless to enter into a Conference unless before doing so some basis of discussion was brought forward and proposed for the consideration of the Conference, and unless there was also a reasonable probability that the two Powers principally concerned were willing to accept that basis. With regard to the particular despatch addressed by the French Minister to the Italian Minister, I do not believe we have received a copy of it; nor do I know precisely what was stated in any such communication between those two Powers. But the noble Earl knows perfectly well from his own experience that in the present state of the communications it would be impossible for the Government to lay the papers upon the table of the House. There are communications 601 going on between France and Italy on one side, and between France and the Court of Rome on the other; but I am not able to say how far these may have tended to facilitate the meeting of a Conference.

§ EARL RUSSELL
Am I right in understanding that the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs has asked what are to be the bases of the Conference, and has not received a satisfactory answer?

§ THE EARL OF DERBY
My noble Relative has stated that there would be no use in entering into a Conference unless the Powers were furnished beforehand with some basis for that Conference, and unless some reason existed for believing that the two Powers principally concerned would agree to a discussion upon the principle of the basis so laid down.