HOUSE OF LORDS.

Thames Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2912, 15 June 1878, Page 4

HOUSE OF LORDS.

DESIGNATION OF THE FOREIGN

SECRETARY.

Xondon, March 28. —The Earl of Derby, who had taken his seat on tbe front bench below the gangway at the Ministerial side, rose and said': My Lords, it is my duty to take the earliest opportunity of stating to your Lordships that I have ceased to hold the office of Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; or, to speak with more verbal accuracy, that my resignation of that office has been tendered to and accepted by Her Majesty, and I only continue to bold that office till the appointment of a ■accessor relieves me from its duties. As a general role, it is equally the right and the duty of a Minister who retires from office to explain, usually in some considerable detail, to Parliament the character .and nature of the differences which have arisen between him and his colleagues, in order that he may justify himself from the imputation of having taken what in any circumstances is a grave and important step on light or inadequate grounds. My lords, I regret that, under present circumstances, it is not possible or at least desirablet fbr me to. follow that ousv tolnary 'and convenient rule. My lords, I baTe^ecei^ed from Her Majesty and from my noble friend at the head of the Government, ; full permission to >»se my own '.' discretion m the matter; but your' lordship will easily understand that in the present state of our foreign relations there are many things which require to be considered and consulted upon by those who are responsible for the conduct of public affairs which it is not in the interest of the State should be made public at the time when the decision is' taken. My lords, the Cabinet have arrived at certain conclusions which, no doubt, are of a grave and important character. In the measures which they propose I have not been able to concur. My lords, to prevent needless alarm from any words of mine, let me say at once that I do not consider that those measures necessarily or inevitably tend to bring about a state of war. I give those with whom I have acted entire credit for desiring as much as I desire the maintenance of the peace of Europe. We agree as to the end, but, unhappily, we differ as to the means; and I cannot in the exercise of my deliberate judgment —however willing and anxious I may be to submit that judgment to what I know to be in many respects the better opinion of my colleagues-—I cannot consider the measures upon which they have decided as being prudent in, the interests of European peace, or as being necessary for the safety of the country, or as being warranted by the state of matters abroad. My lords, when the concurrence of Parliament is asked for those measures of which I have spoken I shall be ready, if necessary, to vindicate the opinion which I have entertained, but until then I consider I am bound by 'public duty to speak only ia the most general terms, leaving it to those who are responsible for the management of public affairs to choose the time and the manner in which they will think it their duty to bring them before your lordships. My lords, there is one possible misconstruction of my conduct against which I think it is desirable I should guard. It might possibly be inferred from the time at which J speak and the nature of what I have said that I have dissented from the view taken by the Cabinet of the conditions on which England ought to go into the Congress. I am bound to say that is not j the case. I deeply regret the obstacles which hare sprung up—sprung up with- j ' out any expectation—in the way of that Congresii being called together; but the fault in my judgment does not rest with the Government of this country, and the dispute in which we are engaged is hoik one of fornr or of words, but one of a very substantial nature. My lords, in my opinion, there would be very little use for England to go into a Congress .unless we are assured that the discussion which was there to take place was to be one of a real and not an illusory kind; and if we were to choose between the two alternatives, lam bound to say I think that, in the interests of European peace, it would be the less misfortune of the two that the Congress should not meet at all, rather than that having met, and serious difficulties having arisen at the outset of its sitting, it should, break up without, any result hying been arrived at. My"lords,l do not rise to argue this question. I have t . referred to it merely to prevent the idea going abroad that it was on that question of the Congress the Cabinet and I have been unable to agree. My lords, I need not tell your lordships, and least of all need I tell my noble friend at the head of the Government, that no, personal motive has * influenced me in the step which I have \ felt compelled to take. (" Hear, hear," from the Opposition.) Every personal motive and every private feeling influenced ,me in the opposite direction; - My lords, no man would willingly break, even for a time, political and personal ties of long Standing; and in the public life of public men of" the present day there are few Apolitical and personal tics closer or of older date, than those which unite me with my-noble friend. My lords, I will say more. I have always held that in -minor matters, a public man is not merely justified in making a considerable sacrifice of his personal opinions, but is even bound by duty to make them, •because, without that, party organisation , and collective action would become impossible; but, my lords, when questions of European interests are at stake—when , the mattersin discussion are really matters involving the issue of peace and war —I am sure your lordships will feel, as I • do, that those are not matters in regard of which it is possible for any man actuated by a. sense of public duty to be influenced " by considerations of personal respect and regard. (Hear,hear.) If that were possible I should be of one mind with my noble, friend at the head of the Government. My lords, I end as I began, by 1 saying that I am compelled at present to speak only in these general terms. I mast reserve for a later date, if it becomes necessary, any further explanation- of the course which I have pursued. (Cheers from the Opposition.) The Earlof Beaconsfield : My lords, your lordships have heard that the Queen has lost to-day the services of one of the ablest of her counsellors. Those only .who have served with my noble friend can sufficiently appreciate his capacity for public affairs, tbe penetrating power of his intelligence, and tbe judicial impartiality of hii general conduct. My lords, I have served with my noble friend in public life for, moire than a quarter of a century, and dw'iD&Jhat long period the cares of pubJic life flSre been mitigated by the conso-

lations of private friendship. A quarter of a century is a long period in the history of any man, and I can truly say that, so far as the relations between myself and my noble friend are concerned, those years have passed without a cloud. My noble friend has to-night, with prudence and perfect taste, avoided entering into the particular reasons that have induced him to take a step which on his part is so momentous, and wliich to the country must be of

interest and importance. My lords, I should be quite willing to refrain from entering into those topics myself until the period when they might be legitimately considered by your lordships ; but I have learnt that so much public mischief may occur from unnecessary mystery in these matters, that I feel it my duty to-day to say that in consequence of our belief that the Congress would not meet for reasons which it is unnecessary now to touch upon—especially as my noble friend, with a becoming candour, has admitted that upon this there was no difference of opinion between him and his late colleagues—it became matter of consideration for Her Majesty's Govern--raent, at a period like the present, when the balance of power in the Mediterranean is so disturbed, and when the hopes of rectifying that balance by the meeting of the Congress seemed altogether to cease, to decide what steps should be taken in order to countervail or resist the mischiefs which were impending. It is, therefore, in the interests of peace and for tbe due protection of the rights of her Empire, that, we have thought it our duty to advise Her Majesty to avail herself of those powers which she ha 3of calling on the reserve, forces by calling for the services of those reserved forces. With that view a message will be laid before Parliament according to the provisions of the statutes in the case. My lords, I felt it my duty to make this announcement; and when the occasion, which of course is near, occurs, your Lordships will have( the opportunity of considering the whole question of the policy and of the,conduct of Her Majesty's Government. That we shall not be supported on that occasion by the abilities of my noble friend who has been so long my companion in public life, I deeply deplore. Those wrenches #of feeling are among the most terrible trials of public life; but we may draw from them at least one noble and consolatory inference —that the sense of duty in our public men is so great that they can bear even these trials. My lords, I have felt of late that the political ties between myself and- my noble friend must soon terminate ; but I believed they would terminate in a very different and natural manner —that I should disappear from the scene, and that he should remain-in the maturity of manhood, with his great talents and experience, to take tbat leading part in public affairs for which he is so well qualified. We have lost his services. I personally, of all his colleagues, suffer most severely in that respect; but lam sustained by the feeling at the present moment that I am conscious and confident that the policy which we have recommended Her Majesty to pursue is one which will tend to the maintenance of the Empire, to the freedom of Europe, and to the greatness and security of this country. (Cheers.) . Viscount Card well, amid a buzz of conversation and a movement of peers on the different benches, was understood to express his regret at the absence of his noblo friend (Earl. Granville) during the important statements which their lordships had just heard. He hoped there would be an early opportunity of discussing the policy of Her Majesty's Government, and that the papers having reference to the question would be laid before Parliament in time for such discussion, so that Parliament would have the means of coming to a sound and right conclusion en the grave decision which had been announced by the noble earl at the head of the Government.—Home Paper.