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

description, but in no instance as he availed himself of his
official position. (Hear, hear.) If there be the slightest
doubt of that, Mr. Lawley is willing to lay bare his breast.
mud submit to any inquiry or examination, either by a
committee or any other tribunal the House of Commons
may think necessary. I have again to assert that though
there may be, as I deeply regret there are, reflections on
his prudence, on his honour there are none ; and I trust
he will survive to resume, at some future time, the career
from which he is at present displaced, with better hopes
and under better auspices. (Cheers.)
Lord D. STUART said, although he had not the honour
of Mr. Lawley's acquaintance, and although it might seem
strange that sitting on the same side of the house he did
not even know that gentleman by sight, he was exceedingly
desirous of baying one question answered for the sake of
Mr. Lawley himself, and he earnestly wished and expected
the answer would be favourable to him. The right hon.
gentleman the Colonial Secretary said he had received in-
formation which satisfied him that Mr. Lawley, during
the time that he had filled the office of secretary to the
Chancellor of the Exchequer, had not speculated in the
funds. The right hon. gentleman stated, that subsequently
he had received from Mr. Lawley himself a letter stating
that unfortunately he had during that time fallen into the
error of speculating in the funds, or entering into some
transactions connected with the funds, although he bad
sot used his official informatidn in any way f ,r the pur-
pose. Many hon. gentlemen near him understood the
right hon. gentleman to say that he had received a letter
from Mr. Lawley, at first stating that he had not during
the period he held the office of secretary to the Chancellor
of the Exchequer speculated in the funds. He wished to
know whether that impression was correct?
Sir GEORGE GREY had stated before that in conse-
quence of rumours which reached the Duke of Newcastle,
which the Duke of Newcastle communicated to him, and
which he immediately communicated in writing to the
Chancellor of the Exchequer, which were that Mr. Lawley
had made use of his official knowledge, as private secretary
of the Chancellor of Exchequer, to speculate in the funds,
on Monday he received a communication which he thought,
and had a right to think, was satisfactory and conclusive
on thee grounds. He certainly understood the purport of
that coreuranication to cover the denial of any speculation
in the funds during the time Mr. Lawley was private secre-
tary to his right hon. friend. But, as he had distinctly
stated a reply was required directly to the very point, had
he made use of his official knowledge for the purpose of
speculating in the funds, and he was bound to belive that
the denial, whatever the terms, had reference to the charge
which was communicated in writing to his right hon. friend.

Mr. DISRA.ELI—When the conduct of an individual is
under discussion it is not agreeable to interfere; but, after
the painful conclusion which has taken place to-day, there
are some observations which fell from the right hon. the
recorder, diiferingin some degree from. the Secretary of State,
with respect to the conduct of my right hon. friend the mem-
ber for Droitwich, which I do nut think I ought to pass
over unnoticed. Those right hon. gentlemen seem to charge
my right hon. friend with want of stra.ightforwarness and
candour, because, after he felt it his duty to give notice to
the house that he should bring this subject of the appoint-
ment of Mr. Lawley before the consideration of the house,
he did nut state explicitly what were the grounds upon
which he was about to chateuge the propriety of that ap-
pointment. 1 think the house will feel, after what it has
heard this evening, that my right hon. friend was placed in a
situation of extreme difficulty, and that it was impossible for
him definitely and precisely to state what were the charges
he had to make against Mr. Lewley, or on what particular
grounds he would chellenge the propriety of that appoint-
ment. I am myself individually aware of the extreme pain
which my right hon. friend felt during the few days which
have elapsed with regard to this question. On more than
one occasion he did me the honour of consulting me, and
certainly the opinion I gave him was not one which at all
encouraged him in any precipitate conduct in the affair.
(Hear, hear.) My hon. friend was actuated by as pure a
souse of public duty as influences any gentleman. (Hear.)
I am sure if the letter referred to by the Recorder were
read to the house, it would show that my right hon. friend
was influenced by feelings of the utmost courtesy and cor-
diality, and I feel it my duty, after the observations whiei
have been made, to express my own opinion (and I hope
and believe it is the opinion of a majority of this house, of
gentlemen on both sides) that the conduct of my right hon.
friend the member for Droitwich has been perfectly justi-
fied by all that has passed. (Hear.)
Mr. BRIGHT—I think the house will be disposed to pass
from the consideration of a case certainly the most painful
th has occurred since I have had the honour to be a mem-
ber of it, and I should not say a syllable with regard to a
gentleman who, possibly without intending anything wrong,
is placed in a position which must give great pain to himself
and his friends. But there is another point involved iu this
notice which has been very much concealed, or rather
pressed out of sight by the urgency of the personal case,
and that is the fact of the appointment of a gentleman to
an office of high responsibility under circumstances, apart
from all private character, which, I think, deserve the
attention of the house. I think the right hon. gentleman
the Colonial Secretary partly, if not entirely, admitted
that when this appointment was brought under his notice
he himself had some doubt as to the propriety of it, and I
think the right hon. gentleman the Recorder of the city of
London said that he heard of the appointment with asto-
nishment. I may say, I believe that feeling of astonish-
ment was almost universal among members of this house ;
and if a feeling of astonishment was created here, I should
like to . ask what must we expect to be the feeling in
the colony over which this appointment was made ?
For myself, though extremely sorry that this question
has come before us as it has done, I hope it may be a
warning to the present Colonial Secretary and his suc-
cessors that the men to be appointed to these onerous
and responsible offices—to be sent to the other side of the
globe to represent the monarch of these realms, and to
carry out the behests of the Imperial Parliament—should
at least be men to whom no one here can point a finger, and
men who can at least deserve, if not obtain, the full confi-
dence of the population they are intended to govern.
Mr. ADDERLEY thought everybody must allow that
the appointment of Mr Lawley was a most unfortunate
one, and more especially unfortunate for that gentleman
himself, though, after all he had not been guilty of any-
thing dishonourable.

The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER—In the
observations which I am desirous of offering to the house
I do not intend to enter upon the personal part of this dis•
cussion, except that I cannot refrain, as being one who
still feels a warm and an affectionate interest in the future
of Mr. Lawley, from tendering my thanks to the house
for the considerate spirit in which they have approached
this discussion. I think it justly due to the right hon.
gentleman, the member for Droitwich, to tender him my
thanks, particularly as I am one who might question the
discretion in the exercise he has made of his undoubted
right to bring this subject forward. The speech which
that right hon. gentleman has made to-night has entirely
convinced me, not that he has been governed in this pro-
ceeding by a sense of public duty, but that he has sincerely
desired to unite the peformance of that duty with every
demonstration of friendliness of feeling towards the sub-
ject of it. (Hear.) It is not always usual for colleagues
to endeavour to do justice to one another when they are
challenged as to the mode in which they exercise their
particular functions '- but, at the same time, from the
intimate relation I bear towards Mr. Lawley, first, in
respect to my private connection with him, and, secondly,
in respect to his official capacity, and bearing in mind the
peculiar circumstances by which my right hon. friend (Sir
-G. Grey) has become nominally responsible for this ap-
pointment, I feel that sometiing is due to him also. But
a few weeks have elapsed since my right hon. friend has
assumed his present office, having previously occupied the
Position of an independent member of this house, and I
think the house will believe that, although my right. hon.
friend has challenged that responsibility, yet the greater
part of it belongs to those who are not ostensibly the
authors of it. lam quite sure that the Duke of Newcastle I
would be the last man to desire that any one should re-
lieve
him from ono grain or tittle of that responsibility
which attaches to his duty. The origin of that appoint-
ment arose from a suggestion made to the Duke of New-
castle, not by Mr. Lawley, nor by any of his family ; but
those who made the suggestion did so from a personal
knowledge of that gentleman and upon public grounds,
and from a conviction that the appointment was one that
would be beneficial to the public. I need not conceal the
fact that the Duke of Newcastle did not determine upoa
that appointment without reference to mo, and he
called upon me to give my advice as to whether 1
Mr. Lawley was or was not fit for the appointment.
Between my noble friend the Duke of Neweastle and my-
self the responsibility for the appointment is shared, my
noble friend having been the official author of the proposal,
and I having been the principal witness to whom he re-
ferred. I cannot consent—and this is the main cause of
my rising—to leave the question on the footing on which it
h,is been placed by my hon. friend who has just sat down.
I agree in all that my hon. friend said with regard to colo-
nial governors. I might even agree with him—although,
perhaps, in this we should find few persons disposed to ac-
company us—in thinking that if the people of South Au-
tralia should desire to recommend their own governors to
the home Government, it would be a wise act to gratify
their wishes. It is, however, enough for me to point out
on this occasion that the people of South Australia 116‘ie
expressed no such wish, and, indeed, it is my Iwllief—and I
am bound to declare it—that at this incennt it is the desire'
of the people of the colonies to r‘te%ive their governors,
selected as they best may be, at the discretion of the Mi-
nisters of the Crown from among qualified persons in this
country. It having been said that Mr. Lawley's appoint-
ment was on public grounds an improper one, and dis-
creditable to the qpwarnment which made it, I wish to ad-
dress myself briety to the consideration of this part of the
question. The hon. member for Manchester represents
Mr. Lawley AA totally unknown in this house—the hon.
member said that my hon. friend was not even known by
sight to him and other members. Why was he unknown?
I say it was impossible for Mr. Lawley, as long as he held
the office of private secretary to the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer, to acquire that degree of distinction in this house
to which his abilities and knowledge fairly entitle him. My
right hon. friend near me (Sir C. Wood) and the right
hon. gentleman opposite (Mr. Disraeli), both of whom have
held the office which I have now the honour to fill, will, I
am sure, confirm my statement that the duties of the pri-
vate secretary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer are not
analogous to those of private secretaries to other Ministers,
but are in a great measure official and departmental duties
which devolve on him owing to the anomalous position of
the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whose place is trior,.o4t;
side than inside the Treasury with respect G4thet buli
,-
of his duties, and who is therefore cm inpelled to make his
private secretary the medi um -0; the most important commu-
nicationsththe 1-- ..B'erd of Inland Revenue, the Board of
Customs, w
thei - B::.nk, and other great bodies. I can tell the
hon. mearfter for Manchester that, although Mr. Lawley hat
not,. 1'...,r the reasons I have stated, had the okortnnity of o,d
07.nring distinction, and of makini hitaself known in this
house, he has undergone Lucie labour for the public during
the last and the present session, and has acquired more
experience lb public of a difficult and important chataitet,
than falls to the lot of most of those Nako sit here for, I will
not say one or two, but for live,, six, or oven ten ses-
sions. I make this statement on the strength of my civitk
official experience. It is all very well to sq, that we ehltald
not appoint young and Ankno*ti then to be governors of
colonies. That is sound doctrine, but those who call npori
the Government to adopt it as the invariable rule of their
conduct should consider what we offer to colonial gover-
society which cora, and what we ask them to do. We ask them to ex-
mate probably ex-
patriate themselves—we ask them to assume a place in
is often comparatively rude, and in a di-
:.ly unhealthy—we ask them to incur various
heawvey and serious risks, that of unpopularity among others
a—co_oelpose them to be recalled at the variable caprice of
which is, in most instances,
'for lsecretary, who is not bound to assign any rea-
sonthe hon.
his conduct—and for all this we offer them remu-
nerationthe Government to select only
Under these circumstances, you come forward and say, as
miserably low.
member for Manchester does, "It is the duty of
go. (A laugh.) Therile
theeamidst
may ask well-known
,_colonial appoi
aware of tremeg
I.T,sioni abpuettswwoeenlillw:kknnooohww:ns hn 'ma
eednn a. 'nw' yi. tllYinno) gut
ntmetits Wfio is not
alulenitY of finding competent per-