The Sun.
London, England, 1854-08-04 00:00:00

order that, before Mr. Lawley left this country to under-
take the government of the important colony of South Aus-
tralia, these rumours, which had become current in every
circle, might be set at rest one way or the other. I did
feel that it was due to Mr. Lawley himself, that it was due
to the Government who appointed him, but, above all,
that it was due to the colony, that Mr. Lawley
should not commence his career under the disadvan-
tage of having these rumours preceding his arrival in the
colony, and therefore under circumstances which could not
but be disadvantageous to him as well as to those whom
he was appointed to govern. It was therefore really as a
matter of public duty, and in spirit of fairness to all par-
ties, that I did venture to give my opinion, that before Mr.
Lawley commenced the important duties which the Go-
vernment had assigned to him, these rumours should be
disposed of one wayor the other. After the speech which
the right hon. baronet had made, and after the distressing
allusions in that speech, I think it is hardly necessary for
me to say that I certainly should not have thought that the
mere fact of having been connected with the sport of horse-
racing was of itself a disqualification for holding the office
of governor of South Australia, or any other high appoint-
ment. I believe, without reference to party considerations,
without regard to one side of the house or the other, that
noblemen and gentlemen of as high and unimpeachable
honour as ever adorned society in this country have taken
an interest in the sport of horse-racing ' • and that it would
be an absurdity to contend that a mere taste for that sport
was of itself a disqualification for high office. (Hear.) The
right hon. baronet has asked me what course I intend to
take. To that I can return but one answer—the course
taken by the right honourable baronet himself has spared
me from a painful duty. I think that, under the circum-
stances wh ch have occurred, Mr. Lawley has acted as a
gentleman in his position ought to have acted, and so far
as I am concerned nothing further will fall from me upon
this subject. (Hear, hear.) The subject must now be
considered to be at an end. I cannot but think that the
information which has been communicated to us justifies
me in the course which I thought it my duty to take. 1
shall say no more upon that point, but shall conclude by
express ng the hope, which I trust may be considered al-
most as superfluous, that the house will believe that no-
thine. but a paramount sense of public duty has induced
me toa take any part at all in this transaction. (IJear.)
Mr. S. WORTLEY—I need not say that I rise upon the
present occasion with feelings of the most painful nature
—(hear, hear)—not on account of the explanation which
I feel to be due to the house with respect to what took
place on a former evening, but because I feel that I have
in my hand the interests of one who must ever be dear to
me, and because I am apprehensive that any imprudence
on my part should be dangerous to a reputation which
hitherto has been untarnished. (Hear, hear.) The right
hon. baronet' the Secretary for the Colonies has expressed
his regret that the right hon. gentleman opposite has up to
the present moment never intimated, either to the Minister
who was responsible for his appointment, or to the friends
of Mr. Lawley, the nature of the charge which lie intended
to make—whether it was upon public grounds as to the fit-
noes of the individual selected, or whether it was upon such
private grounds as those which have been referred to this
evening. tinder these circumstances, there was nothing
for Mr. Lawley and his friends bat to collect from public
rumour what it was that the right hon. gentleman opposite
meant, and that public rumour undoubtedly embodied the
charges which have been already referred to. By far the
gravest and most important of these charges was this, that
Mr. Lawley had availed himself of his official knowledge
as private secretary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer to
!culate in the fends. The moment that I heard that
imputation I utterly disbelieved it. But before I pursue
th:4t, allow me to confirm some of the statements which
have been made by the Colonial Pecretary in justification
of Mr. Lawley. I must tell the house, in the first place,
that this appointment was obtained by Mr. Lawley solely
')y his own exertions. No person applied for it in his ha-
half ; no influence was used by his relatives or others to
obtain it for him ; it was his merits, and his merits alone
—his services in the last eighteen months, during which
he ,s been a most able, efficient, and faithful servant to
the Chancellor of the Exchequer—which recommended him
to official men for that 'appointment. (Hear, hear.) I
myself heard of the appointment with astonishment. At
first I was informed that the appointment was to the go-
vernorship of West Australia, and as a relative of Mr.
Lawley I more than once remonstrated, and expressed my
regret that so able and so promising a man should place
himself in exile in such a manner as that. I found I was
mistaken, and that the appointment was to South Aus-
tralia.
But even then it was with great reluctance that
the friends of Mr. Lawley could approve of his leaving this
country. When, however, we were told that the Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer had recommended him to accept
the appointment, and that it would afford him an oppor-
tunity of withdrawing from that unhappy connection
which has been the unfortunate cause of all this mischief,
we rejoiced that an opportunity which I knew he was
himself anxious to obtain had been placed within his reach.
A connection with the turf, as it is called, is unfortunately,
one from which a man cannot withdraw himself in a mi-
nute. He has contracted obligations to which- he must be
attentive in order to avert great losses at a future time, and
it is impossible to withdraw himself from such a connection
in a moment. I was consequently aware that prior to the
time when this appointment was offered to him Mr.
Lawley had not been able entirely to extricate himself ;
but I knew at the same time that he was anxiously de-
sirous to do so as soon as possible, and it was upon that
ground that his family were prepared to recommend him to
accept the governorship of South Australia, though they
certainly were of opinion that the acceptance of such an ap-
pointment would involve some sacrifice on the part of a man
with his connections, with his fortune, with his abilities,
and his determination to devote them to the public service,
and with a seat in Parliament. Not that I mean to depre-
ciate so high and important an office as the governorship of
South Australia—l merely state what our views were—and
at all events Mr.Lawley was advised to accept the appoint-
ment. The right hon, baronet the Secretary for the Colo-
nies, as he has already stated to the house, came to me and
asked me what was the understanding of Mr. Lawley's fa-
mily with reference to what had passed between him and
the Duke of Newcastle. My answer was that We had all
understood that the office was placed at Mr. Lawley's dis-
posal, but that he had asked awl obtained time to consider
the subject. The right hon. baronet, in the handsomest
and kindest manner, immediately said that there was an
end to all further question in regard to the appointment,
zuld that he was willing to take the whole responsibility of
' she nomination. I then thought it my duty to state to
the right hon. baronet that. Mr. Lawley had not only
been on the turf, but had also incurred losses and mbar-
ra.ssment—that he had made a full statement of all his
difficulties to his friends, and that care would be taken,
he having considerable expectations, that by the time he
left this country he should not be a single farthing in debt.
( Hear.) We were, of course, greatly astonished by the
question of the right honourable baronet opposite, and
were anxious to ascertain whether it was brought forward
upon public or private grounds. I made an application to
the right honourable baronet on the subject, but he de-
clined to give me the desired information.

Sir J. PAKINGTON—I did not decline. I stated that
I was then unable to give an answer, but promised to do
so as soon as I possibly could.
Mr. S. WORTLEY—You said that you would give me
an answer on the following Thursday, which was the day
on which you were to bring forward your question. Mr.
Lawley was out of town at that time. I wrote to him
immediately that it was necessary he should come to
London. He came. I saw him the moment he ar-
rived. He told me that he had seen attacks against him
in the newspapers, not on private, but on public
grounds, and frankly admitted that the appointment of
so young a man to an office of such importance might
very fairly be made the subject of comment and animad-
version in the press. I told him that there were charges
affecting his personal honour, which he must be pre-
pared to meet if he intended to hold the appointment. I
said I was unable to ascertain the grounds or purport of
the motion which the right hon. baronet intended to make
in this house, but I added it was rumoured, and that the
ruinour had reached the Dnke of Newcastle and Sir George
Grey, that he had availed himself of the official informa-
tion which he obtained as private secretary to the Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer for the purpose of speculating in
• the funds. He denied that charge in the strongest and
most indignant terms. I rejoiced that he did so, and ad-
vised him to write to Sir George Grey to that effect. Such
were the circumstances which led me upon a former occa-
sion to refer to what I called the " calumnious rumours"
whi oh were afloat concerning Mr. Lawley. To this moment
1 b 31i0V0 I have Mr. Lawley'e authority for s.,.ying that he
hr;:; never used his o b clal knowledge as private secretary
to the Chancellor of the Exchequer for the purpose of spe-
culating in the funds ; and, indeed, it is clear and manifest
that he has never done so, for, as has been already stated,
his speculations have been losing speculations, and have
only increased his difficulties. Subsequently, however, he
thought it right—having up to that time concealed the fact
under the false impression that he was bound not to dis-
close the names of-others—to state to the Chancellor of the
Exchequer that he had been engaged in speculating in the
funds, but that those speculations had been wholly uncon-
nected with any official information which ho might have
pons essed. Under these circumstances Mr. Lawley does not
complain in the slightest degree of the step which has been
taken by the right hon. baronet the Secretary for the Colo-
nies; on the contrary, he has no doubt that the public ser-
vioe required it, and that, after such a great indiscretion
as he had been guilty of, it was of course utterly impossible
that his appointment could proceed. I have stated that it
was by his own merits alone that he obtained this appoint-
ment. I do not rely upon my own opinion upon that point.
It might be biassed by affection. Nor do I rely upon the
opinion of his friends merely, but upon that of public men
having the greatest opportunities of judging of Mr.Lawley,
his capacityand qualifications. I hold in my hand a letter
from one of the distinguished public servants in the coun-
try—Mr. John Wood, chairman of the Board of Inland
Revenue. He bad frequently spoken to me about this
appointment, and had referred in the highest terms to the
ability and fitness of Mr. Lawley for the office. I asked
him if he would have any objection to put his opi-
nion upon paper. His words were these :—" I wish I
had the opportunity to give my public testimony to his
fitness for the appointment. I could refer to my know-
ledge of him for very many years, and more pram-
, larly to my experience during the two sessions he has
acted as private secretary to the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer. Seldom has a day passed during that period in
which I have not had communication with him, and this
is by no means the first occasion on which I have ex-
preased my admiration of his talents, his indefatigable in-
dustry' and his singular aptitude for business. These qua-
lities are, enhanced by a most amiable temper and an
earnest ..sincerity, which are peculiarly valuable in official
life. I am well aware that he has long entertained a par-
tiality. for colonial government, and has been desirous to
cln&lif.9 himself for ; and, much as I wiah that he had
serum/ ned in this conintry, I am in some degree reconciled
to his i going, belie
before
an honourable career of distin-
guist Led usefulnessvlinsg
the: oPon of a disinterested (Hear, hear.) That is
va' 'mess. But I heaavge d certainly most capable
feeettsit,tivAher testimony—not from *
ge Atleman belonging
political party as 3.1.-r..
L Awley—not from an old inlrisdn--mbent from a distinguiehad
Y nun, holding a high and important office. It is t'a ihe
' following effect I shall ratioh regret your de-Nature
from Downing-street, whoever ' you have my hearty
good
wishes
er be your stlCC:dasor, and
vernment, of which I cannot have anil. "lc fu0n.,:;480,,i.wn
to the discharge of your duties talent"'
of purpose, and eve
r•
opinion of the
ry uality re 4'.9:n
(Hear, hear.) The.t is the ' •
Board of Customs, Sir Thomas Fre
the Government who made this appointment
fora the hour e these testimonies to the In
ill nbrrigiang.
-efiY, and honesty
Chairman of the
fa B'.ce to instu-e success"
nsntle. I feel it due to
hefita to bring be-
ley ; and I do so also for the purpose of cousfiesrofiMgr.Law
'.
have alma sly said, that he obtained the appoimnt n-
what
-by the influence of friends, but by his own mmereintst nodt
of show4,ng that it was an honourable ambition which
proniPt,ed him to accept it. I likewise wish to state that
until. a late hoar last night, neither his own family nor
any member of the Government could have been at all
awn ,e of his transactions in the funds. I can only repeat
inoF ,t emphatically that on no occasion has Mr. Lawley
us, id his official situation for the purpose of assisting in
ti Jese speculations. They are the unfortunate consequence
'Jf a habit acquired in former years, when ho k3pt the so-
ciety otmou who indulged-in-gambling-transaction. of this '