§ THE EARL OF DERBYMy Lords, seeing my noble Friend (Lord Campbell), who has a Motion on the Notice Paper, in his place now, I wish to make an appeal to him, with which, I think, he will not be indisposed to comply. The subject of that Notice has been considered by myself and my Colleagues, and we are satisfied that a discussion relating to the terms of the Armistice entered into between the two belligerent Powers in a war in which, so far, Her Majesty's Government have remained neutrals would not be a discussion calculated to advance the public service, and certainly would not be one in which any Representative of Her Majesty's Government in this House could take a part. My noble Friend, of course, may proceed with his Motion or not, as he thinks proper; but I think it right to inform him before he begins his statement that, in the event of his doing so, we do not intend to take part in any debate that may ensue and shall meet the Motion by the previous Question.
§ EARL GRANVILLEMy Lords, I entirely agree in the observations that have fallen from the noble Earl. I am not aware whether this Motion is intended as a Motion for a Vote of Confidence in the Government or a Vote of Want of Confidence; but I can only say for myself—and I believe I speak also for my noble Friends near me—that in either of those two courses we are not at present disposed to concur.
LORD CAMPBELL,whose Notice of Motion was—
To move to resolve, That in the opinion, of this House the terms of the armistice between Russia and the Porte are such as to justify Her Majesty's Government in taking every precaution to discourage the encroachments by which the Treaties of 1856 and 1871 are unfortunately threatened,said, there was only one rule by which any noble Lord could be guided on an appeal of this kind from the Government. When the Government affirmed that discussion on a given Notice was likely to be detrimental to the public service, the announcement of their views—whether their conclusions be well founded or not—created a hostile feeling in the audience which nobody with Parlia- 1842 mentary experience would think it prudent to encounter. There was no room for deliberation on the point; but as to noble Lords who might be disposed to criticize his Notice, and whose language might create an incorrect impression out-of-doors, he would take this opportunity of adding that the drift and design of the Motion was merely to place their Lordships in accord with the House of Commons, which had lately put on record a Vote of Credit to strengthen them against an overbearing Power. As to the Motion, he postponed it in deference to the appeal of the noble Earl the Foreign Secretary, as he would always do on similar occasions; reserving to himself a perfect right to move in the same or in a different form a Resolution, to the same effect, whenever the obstacle referred to by the Government had been disposed of.