§ EARL DE LA WARR, in rising to ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Whether he can give any information with regard to the appointment of the Chief Secretary at Malta as Lieutenant Governor, and to what extent the administration of civil affairs will be in future under his direction; also, what portion of the salaries of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor will, in future, be paid by the Maltese Government? said, that their Lordships were probably aware that the question of the appointment of a Civil Governor of Malta was a matter of great interest to the Maltese people, and he might say had been so since they placed themselves under the protection of the British Crown and became British subjects. The noble Earl opposite, the Secretary of State for the Colonies, said in that House last Session that he would give a careful consideration to this subject. He had, therefore, felt that he might now ask the noble Earl to what extent the proposed arrangement would place the administration of the civil affairs of Malta and its Dependencies, as distinct from the military, under the direction of a civilian?
§ THE EARL OF DERBYsaid, that, in answer to the Question of his noble Friend, he had to state that the matter of the Civil and Military Governorship of Malta had for a long time been under discussion. It had been most properly brought forward on behalf of the interests of the Maltese population, and it had been most carefully considered last year. After weighing all the arguments pro and con he had come to the decided conclusion that, under the peculiar circumstances of Malta, it would not be desirable to comply to the full extent with their demands. Malta was a very small Island, and it was also an Imperial fortress; and he thought that to put into such a narrow area two authorities, each supreme in his own sphere, would be to produce a state of things which might very possibly end in collision between them, and at any rate would not lead to that unity of action which was desirable. He felt himself, therefore, bound to negative that proposition; but he had considered how far it was possible, 841 without injury to the interests of good administration, to meet the wishes of the Maltese people. He understood that the main cause of complaint was that the people supposed, whether rightly or wrongly, that a military officer, having control of the garrison and looking upon his office as in the nature of a military command, was not likely to give as much attention as they would desire to the civil affairs of the Colony. He had endeavoured to meet that objection by giving to the officer who at present held the position of Colonial Secretary the higher rank of Lieutenant Governor, together with an increase of salary, thereby raising his position and placing in the main the administration of civil affairs in his hands. It was not possible—he did not think it would be desirable if it were possible—to endeavour to define precisely beforehand the duties which would be performed by the Lieutenant Governor and those performed by the Governor. It was not intended that there should be any conflict of authority, but that the Governor should be supreme in all matters, whether civil or military. But, practically, the Lieutenant Governor would be placed in that position in which he would be able to relieve the Governor of a very large part of the duty of civil administration. They should not attempt to define their relative positions or duties with any precise accuracy at the present time, because they believed it was a matter which would be better settled when they had some practical experience upon the subject. With regard to the financial part of the question, the House was aware that some years ago a Commission was appointed to inquire into the finances of Malta, and among the other recommendations of that Commission there was one that the salary of the Governor should be reduced from £5,000 to £3,000 a-year. It was contended that the sum of £5,000 was a larger sum than the Maltese could fairly be called upon to pay; and that if they wanted an officer of high position, and one who expected a higher salary, it was rather for the Imperial Government than for the Colony to pay the additional expense. Under these circumstances, he felt it was impossible to maintain the obligation of the Colony to contribute to the Governor's salary at the higher rate. The amount of salary 842 remained unchanged; but, by an arrangement with the War Office, £2,000 out of the £5,000 would be charged upon Imperial funds. There was a reduction, therefore, of the charge upon the Colony to the extent of £2,000, which sum would, however, be diminished by the increase of salary to the Lieutenant Governor. That increase would be £600, and the net decrease to the Colony would therefore be £1,400. He would lay on the Table all the Papers, and their Lordships would see how it was proposed to pay the salaries of both the Governor and the Lieutenant Governor.
THE EARL OF CARNARVONsaid, that it would be convenient to see the Papers; but he would at once say that he took great exception to the principle of the change which had been made. He should like to know what effect the change would have upon the relations between the Governor and the Lieutenant Governor? He very much, doubted the wisdom of the alteration in the duties of the Lieutenant Governor. Malta had a military as well as a commercial population, and it had a Council composed of 10 elected and 10 nominated Members, and there the question of the relations of the civil duties of the Lieutenant Governor and his relations with the Governor would be fought out; and he feared there would be much antagonism—anyhow, there would be much friction between the parties in the administration of the affairs of the Island.
§ THE EARL OF DERBYexplained that the Governor would, as now, be supreme in all matters; but the Lieutenant Governor would relieve him of some part of his duties in regard to the civil administration.
§ VISCOUNT SIDMOUTHremarked, that things in Malta were just now in a very divided state, there being actually no Council. He doubted, therefore, whether this was the right time for making the proposed change.
THE EARL OF LONGFORDobserved, that, having resided for some time in Malta, he could not conceive any arrangement more ingeniously devised for producing disagreement than that now proposed. Moreover, Malta particularly objected to be described as a "Colony."