The Sun.
London, England, 1858-06-01 00:00:00

SUPPLY.

Mr. FITZROY brought up the re port of the Com-
mittee of Supply, on which a discussion ensued on
various subjects.

THE SERPENTINE.
Sir J. SHELLEY complained that no vote had been
taken for improving the Serpentine, after the plan of the
Ornamental Water in St. James's-park.

THE LADIES' GALLERY.
Major EDWARDS called attention to the present in•
convenient state of the ladies' gallery. By an outlay of
2001. the gallery might be made to hold 42 ladies instead
of 21 as at present.
Mr. B. HOPE thought the house should first do some-
thing to improve the interior of the house. He had
heard it compared to a Swiss cottage. It certainly did
not afford that convenianca and comfart it ought after
so much money had been expended on it.
Mr. BENTINCK hoped the house would not sanc-
tion the outlay of money for such purposes until our
defences had been put in a proper and efficient state.
The subject then dropped.
The report was ultimately agreed to.

MR. DISRAELI'S SPEECH AT SLOUGH'.
On the motion that the Speaker leave the chair to go
into Committee of Supply,

Viscount PALMERSTON said— Sir, the right hon.
gentleman on Friday last, when I was perhaps somewhat
negligent in not being present in the house, made an ap-
peal to me upon a matter of very great national importance;
and I therefore feel it my duty to take the earliest oppor-
tunity of answering the appeal so made. The right hon.
gentleman on Wednesday last, I think it was, before a
large assembly of his constituents at Slough, made a speech
which, he will forgive me for saying, has, I believe, ex-
cited much astonishment. (Cheers.) It was natural that
the right hon. gentleman should feel elated at the position
in which he then stood. For the first time he found him-
self in a large assembly in which not merely the majority
supported him, but in which he was unanimously sup-
ported by those who were present—a position of somewhat
novel character to the right hon. gentleman. (Cries of
"Oh," and counter cheers.) It was not surprising that he
should be elated by the spontaneous cheers of 500 or 60)
honest but deluded farmers—he, who had been accustomed
only to the cheers of a small band of well-drilled sup-
porters—(" oh, oh," and cheers) —following the lead of a
fugleman like well-drilled soldiers. (Renewed cheers.) It
was only natural that he should b 3 elated by the heart-
felt and hearty acclamations of these honest but misguided
farmers—(" ob," and laughter)---who saw in him the un-
flinching champion of protection, and the uncompromising
antagonist of free trade. (Laughter.) It was not surprising
that he should be elated by the reception he met with ;
and therefore if he had made a speech suitable to
his position as a mini-ter of the orown going to
meet his constituents, nobody could have found fault with
him for having availed himself of that occasion. But I
must say that the speech which he did make was of such
a character, that if it had been made by a person in hum-
bler condition, ignorant of national affairs, unaccustomed
to the arts of government, and knowing nothing of the re-
sponsibilities of government, he would have been treated
with forbearance, and perhaps with compassion. But the
right hon, gentleman went there with a speech delibe-
rately studied and prepared, and announced himself as the
representative of her Majesty's Government. What there-
fore fell from his lips was of the greatest importance, not
merely on account of the matter it contained, but on ac-
count of the person by whom the speech was pronounced.
Now, sir, the right hon. gentleman began by stating that
Lord Derby, when he came into office, succeeded to a
heritage of innumerable troubles. (Loud Ministerial
cheers. I remember to have heard with my own ears,
from the lips of Lord Derby himself, that when he came
into office he found the country in every respect in a sa-
tisfactory condition, and that his only hope was
that when he left office, be that time nearer or more se-
mote, he might leave the country in as good a condition as
that in which he found it. (Loud cheers.) Now Lord
Derby is not a man to make a speech without knowing
well what he is going to say. He is a man who from the
powers of his mind could have made a speech as well on
the spur of the moment as if he had had a fortnight's pre-
paration. Yet he required two days to prepare his speech
—not to prepare periods of that eloquence which was to
delight an audience representing almost every class,; but
he required those two days to inform himself on all matters
connected with the Government, and to enable him is
speak with knowledge and authority upon the state of the
country, as it was when he came into office. (Hear.) And
therefore I say, air, that the assertion of Lord Derby that
the country was in a satisfactory state, is a refutation of
the right honourable gentleman's statement that he sue-
, ceeded to a heritage of innumerable difficulties. (Cheers.)
Bat then the right honourable gentleman went on enume-
rating what these difficulties were ; and he placed in
the first rank to that which I am now going to direct what
I have to say in answer to the right hon. gentleman. The
right hon. gentleman stated that when they came int
office they found the country on the very verge of war;
that the question of peace or war hung not upon days, but
upon hours. (Hear, hear.) Now, air, all I can say is, that,
so far as lam informed—so far as anything I know goes,
with regard to our relations with France at that period—
that statement is utterly and entirely groundless. (Loud
cheers.) It is not only groundless, but it is the very oppo-
site of truth— (renewed cheers)—and I cannot but express
nay suprrise that the right hon, gentleman should have
male such an assertion:as that, more especially in the place
and at the time he did. (Cheers.) Why, sir, did not the
right hon. gentleman know the gravity of the statement
he was making? (Cheers) Assuming it to be true, was it
a statement to be made in a booth at Slough to a parcel of
carousing electors ? (Cheers and laughter.) If that state-
pent had been true, and if the right hon. gentleman
thought it for the public interest that it should be made—
if the right hon. gentleman thought the country was
apathetic with regard to the national defences, as stated
jest now by the hon. gentleman the member for Norfolk
(Hr. Bentinck)—if the right hon. gentleman thought it
right to caution the country against the chAncs of danger
which from time hung over our heads, in order that it
might provide a remedy—it should have been in this house,
on the estimates, by the right hon. gentleman speaking
with the responsibility of a Minister from the Treasury
bench, that a statement of that description should have
beers made. (Loud cheers.) I deny that statement utterly
and entirely. (Cheers.) On Friday last, when Lord John
Russell alluded to the subject, the right hon. gentlemar,
with an sir of triumph, got up and cited something that I
said in answer to a question as a proof of that statement •
and he referred to other circumstances connected with
the French ambassador. I say that the words of mine
which he quoted utterly repudiate and demolish the
assertion which he made. He quoted the answer
Which I made to an honourable member who asked a
question which I thought calculated to give offence to the
Emperor of France. I said that before I answered the

question, I should wish to ask_ the house whether it was
their wish and intention that the intimate and confidential
relations which then existed between England anti France
should be maintained, or whether it was their wish and
intention to infuse a spirit of irritation, bitterness, and
animosity into those relations. (Hear, hear.) I said no-
thing about war. What I said was that we were upon a
footing of most intimate relations with France, but that I
thought a repetition of questions such as that' which had
been proposed, which were personally aimed, and in a very
offensive manner, against the sovereign of France, were 1
calculated to impair those friendly relasions. (Hear, hear.)
1y assertion then was that our relations with France were
intimate and confidential. When was it that that asser-
IZ',l•olsas male ? The right hon. gentleman says that-it was
148
'hours before the late government wont out of office.
I say that 4 8 hours before the late government fell
tirtrhee says
swith France were intimate and cpufidential
thatabaiethe French ambassador suddenly quitted
England ;
sadors do not suddenly -"
It is well known that' ambas-
are accredited without leave those countriesto which they
turbed state of the
it • ply'
relations between those countries."
gentleman know that the
French ambassador (than whm,oommthere is not a more honest
and patriotic man, and one
but thoroughly imbued with
the love of his own country,
seine time deeply
imbued with the desire to r
aelndaedrvattnalteea:eillance between
England and France of mutual
tries), that Count Persigny, the nu,d„,Cortol both coun-
went over for a fortnight to France on his or:l'ff
dealing
,
was in France when the change of government took pBiy"ced,
(Hear, hear.) Instead of going away coincident with the
change of gostinment, he returned at that time. (Bear
hear.) Instead of the departure of the French arnbas:
sador from England happening to coincide with the
change of government, I believe that two days after-
wards he returned to England- Therefore, so far as any
inference is to be drawn from that, it
_is valueless for the k