* LORD TEYNHAMMy Lords, although the subject which I am about to bring before you is not on the Orders of the Day, I trust I may be allowed to congratulate the noble Marquess on the admirable appointment he has made to the post of Consul General at Beyrout, to the delight, T should imagine, of everyone who is interested in Syria, a country which is increasing annually in prosperity, and daily in interest. With, regard to the Christian Missions there and the long-pending appointment to the post of Consul General at Beyrout, I should be deceiving the noble Marquess if I were not to confess that very considerable misgivings and anxiety—
§ THE EARL OF FEVERSHAMI rise to order. I wish to submit to your Lordships whether the noble Lord is in order in bringing forward a subject of which no notice has been given? It is contrary, I believe, to the general custom of this House.
§ THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURYIt was before I was in the House, but I think there was a Report made by a Committee of which, I believe. Lord Stanhope was Chairman a Report in which the House coincided that matters of importance should not be brought forward without duo notice. As that is the case the noble Lord is out of order. If he will kindly put his Motion on the Paper we shall be in a better position to discuss it than we possibly can be now.
* LORD TEYNHAMI am sorry the noble Lord has thought it right to interrupt me. I am quite certain that what I was going to say would not have been unwelcome to your Lordships. I do not think it would have been objected to. I had a particular reason for making 243 these remarks, and that is, that I have received a communication this afternoon from the British Syrian Mission, an Institution which under the patronage of Bishop Perry takes in Syria very much the position which the Church Missionary Society takes in Palestine. I hope I shall not be interrupted. I was about to say that I have received a communication which I intended to press orally upon the noble Marquess in this House in order to spare him, in order to spare the Foreign Office, and, if I may be permitted to say so, in order to spare myself the correspondence which will otherwise be entailed, as I assure your Lordships will be the case, correspondence which I assure my noble Friend who interrupted me, as I venture to think without sufficient cause, will ensue if I am not permitted to bring this matter forward now. Of course, I am in your Lordships' hands; but even during the short time I have sat in this House, in the present Session, noble Lords have been permitted to mention matters which were not down on the agenda. It remains with the noble Marquess, and I ask him to say whether I shall not be permitted to spare himself, the Foreign Office, and myself the correspondence which must otherwise ensue?
§ THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURYThe Foreign Office is very much accustomed to correspondence, and I do not know whether they will shrink from the ordeal with which the noble Lord threatens them. As far as I am concerned, I shall be very pleased to listen to anything the noble Lord has to say; the only thing I cannot promise is to give him an answer.
§ THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURYI should be very glad to hear what the noble Peer has to say, and if noble Lords do not object I shall hear what he wishes to state, but I cannot promise him an answer without notice.
* LORD TEYNHAMI should not presume to expect an answer from the noble Marquess now; but I have a communication from the Syrian Mission. I had the honour of bringing another question not very dissimilar to this before the noble Earl in 1885. That matter was settled, and I have no doubt it was settled the more easily because the schools relative 244 to which the dispute between the English and Turkish Governments then arose—
§ EARL GRANVILLEMy Lords, I rise to order. I will merely state that I rise as an individual Peer, and that I have the right to call the attention of the House to a question of order, whether I am appealed to directly by the noble Peer or whether he is appealing to anyone else. It appears to me that what the noble Marquess has said is perfectly correct, and that it is out of order for a noble Lord to bring on a matter of which he has not given notice. The noble Lord will put himself in order by placing notice on the Paper for a day when he can bring before the House any arguments he has in favour of his notice.
* LORD TEYNHAMI am sorry noble Lords will not let me finish what I commenced. I can only appeal again to your Lordships—
THE EARL OF CAMPERDOWNMy Lords, I rise to order. The noble Lord has been called to order three or four times, and I beg to move that he be not now heard.
§ THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURYI beg to move that the House do now adjourn.
§ House adjourned at Five o'clock, to Monday next, a quarter before Eleven o'clock