Speeches on Questions of Public Policy, Volume 1Bright, John
History
Speeches on Questions of Public Policy, Volume 1
Bright, John
Great Britain -- Politics and government -- 1837-1901
It is admitted, and the noble Lord has not flatly denied it--he cannot
deny it--he knows it as well as the hon. and learned Member for
Greenock--he knows it as well as the very man whose hand did the evil--
he knows there have been garbling, mutilation, practically and
essentially falsehood and forgery, in these despatches which have been
laid before the House. Why was it refused to give the original
despatches when they were asked for in 1842 by the hon. Member for
Inverness-shire (Mr. H. Baillie), and when they were asked for at a
later period by the hon. Member for Sheffield (Mr. Hadfield)? Why was it
that the originals were so consistently withheld? That they have been
given now I suppose is because those who were guilty of the outrage on
the faith of Parliament thought, as twenty years had elapsed, that
nobody would give himself the trouble to go into the question, and that
no man would be so earnest as my hon. Friend the Member for Greenock in
bringing the question before the notice of Parliament.
My hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield (Mr. Hadfield) informs me that
it was the noble Lord the Member for King's Lynn (Lord Stanley) who
consented to the production of the original despatches when he was in
office. I was not aware of that fact; but I am free here to tender him
my thanks for the course which he took. I am sure he is the last man
whom any one would suspect of being mixed up in any transaction of this
kind, except with a view to give the House and the country full
information with regard to it. I say, then, avoiding all the long speech
of the noble Lord, that the object of the Committee is to find out who
did this evil thing--who placed upon the table of the House information
which was knowingly false, and despatches that were actually forged--
because if you add to or detract from, or so change a coin, or note, or
deed, as to make any of them bear a meaning contrary to its original and
intended meaning, of course you are guilty of such an act as I have
described, and that is precisely what somebody has done in the
despatches which we are now discussing. I say an odious offence has been
committed against the House, and against the truth; and what we want to
know is, who did it?
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