LISBURN. Sir Richard Wallace, bt. Marriott Robert Dalway. ARMAGH COUNTY. Edward Wingfield Verner, Maxwell Charles Close. ARMAGH (CITY). George De La Poer Beresford. CARLOW COUNTY. Henry Bruen, Arthur MacMorrough CARLOW (BOROUGH). CAVAN COUNTY. Charles Joseph Fay, CLARE COUNTY. Rt. hon. Lord Francis Conyngham, Sir Bryan O'Loghlen, bt. ENNIS. William Stacpoole. CORK COUNTY. McCarthy Downing, CORK (CITY). Nicholas Daniel Murphy. William Goulding. BANDON BRIDGE. Alexander Swanston. YOUGHAL. Sir Joseph Neale McKenna, John Brady, Francis O'Beirne. LIMERICK COUNTY. William Henry O'Sullivan, Edmund John Synan. LIMERICK (CITY). Isaac Butt, Daniel Taylor. LONDONDERRY (CITY). Charles Edward Lewis. LONGFORD COUNTY. Myles William O'Reilly, George Errington. LOUTH COUNTY. Alexander Martin Sullivan, George Harley Kirk. DUNDALK. Philip Callan. DROGHEDA. William Hagarty O'Leary. MAYO COUNTY. George Ekins Browne, Edward Robert King Har man. TIPPERARY COUNTY. Stephen Moore, CLONMEL. Arthur John Moore. TYRONE COUNTY. John William Ellison Macartney, Hon. Henry William LowryCorry. DUNGANNON. Thomas Alexander Dick son. WATERFORD COUNTY. Lord Charles William De la Poer Beresford, James Delahunty. DUNGARVAN. Frank Hugh O'Donnell. WATERFORD (CITY). Richard Power, WESTMEATH COUNTY. Rt. hon. Lord Robert Montagu. ATHLONE. Edward Sheil. WEXFORD COUNTY. Sir George Bowyer, bt., WEXFORD (BOROUGH). William Archer Redmond. NEW ROSS. John Dunbar. WICKLOW COUNTY. William Richard O'Byrne, William Wentworth Fitz HANSARD'S PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES, IN THE SIXTH SESSION OF THE TWENTY-FIRST PARLIAMENT OF THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND, APPOINTED TO MEET 5 MARCH, 1874, AND THENCE CONTINUED TILL 5 DECEMBER, 1878, IN THE FORTY-SECOND YEAR OF THE REIGN OF HER MAJESTY QUEEN VICTORIA. FIRST VOLUME OF THE SESSION. HOUSE OF LORDS, HE PARLIAMENT, which had been the 16th day of August to the 2nd day of November; and thence to the 30th day of November; was now commanded to assemble on the 5th day of December for Despatch of Business by Proclamation, as follows: "BY THE QUEEN—A PROCLAMATION. "VICTORIA R. "Whereas Our Parliament stands prorogued to Saturday the Thirtieth Day of November instant: We, by and with the Advice of Our Privy Council, hereby issue Our Royal Proclamation, and publish and declare, that the said Parliament be further prorogued to Thursday the VOL. COXLIII. [THIRD SERIES.] Fifth Day of December One thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight; and Wo do hereby further, with the Advice aforesaid, declare Our Royal Will and Pleasure that the said Parliament shall, on the said Thursday the Fifth Day of December One thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight, assemble and be holden for Affairs; And the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and the Knights, Citizens, and Burgesses, and the Commissioners for Shires and Burghs of the House of Commons, are hereby required and commanded to give their Attendance accordingly, at Westminster, on the said Thursday the Fifth Day of December One thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight. "Given at Our Court at Windsor, this Twenty-seventh Day of November in the Year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight, and in the Forty-second Year of Our Reign. B "God save the Queen,” And the PARLIAMENT having met you the communication required by accordingly, the Session was opened by Law. Commission. The HOUSE OF LORDS being met; THE LORD quainted the House, "That it not being convenient for Her Majesty to be personally present here this day, She has been pleased to cause a Commission under the Great Seal to be prepared, in order to the holding of this Parliament." "I have directed that Papers on the subject shall be laid before you. "I receive from all foreign Powers assurances of their friendly feelings, and I have every reason to believe that the arrangements for the pacification of Europe, made by the Treaty of Berlin, will be successfully carried into effect. "Gentlemen of the House of Commons, "The Estimates for the ensuing Then Five of the LORDS COMMISSIONERS -namely, The LORD CHANCELLOR; The LORD PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL (The Duke of Richmond and Gordon); The LORD PRIVY SEAL (The Duke of Northumberland); The LORD STEWARD (Earl Beauchamp); and The LORD SKELMERSDALE-being in their Robes, and seated year are in course of preparation, and on a Form placed between the Throne will in due time be submitted to and the Woolsack, commanded the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod to let you. the Commons know "The Lords Commissioners desire their immediate attendance in this House, to hear the Commission read." And the COMMONS being at the Bar, with their Speaker:-The Commission was read by the Clerk :-Then THE QUEEN'S SPEECH. THE LORD CHANCELLOR delivered HER MAJESTY'S SPEECH to both Houses of Parliament, as follows: 'My Lords, and Gentlemen, "I REGRET that I have been obliged to call for your attendance at an unusual and, probably, to most of you, an inconvenient season. "The hostility towards my Indian Government manifested by the Ameer of Afghanistan, and the manner in which he repulsed my friendly Mission, left me no alternative but to make a peremptory demand for redress. "This demand having been disregarded, I have directed an expedition to be sent into his territory, and I have taken the earliest opportunity of "My Lords, and Gentlemen, "I propose that after full deliberation upon the matters which have led me to anticipate your usual time of meeting, and after a suitable recess, you should proceed to the consideration of various measures for the public benefit which will then be laid before you. "I confidently commit to your wisdom the great interests of my Empire, and I pray that the blessing of Almighty God may attend your Then the Commons withdrew. ROLL OF THE LORDS-Garter King of Arms attending, delivered at the Table (in the usual manner) a List of the Lords Temporal in the Sixth Session of the Twenty-first Parliament of the United Kingdom: The same was ordered to lie on the Table. SELECT VESTRIES- Bill, pro formá, THE EARL OF RAVENSWORTH, in rising to move that an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty in answer to Her Majesty's Most Gracious Speech, said: My Lords, on rising for the first time to address your Lordships I must claim your indulgence, I am afraid for some time, on two grounds-upon general grounds, my Lords, and upon special grounds; because, though I cannot allege entire inexperience in public business or in debate, having served a considerable apprenticeship in "another place," I cannot disguise from myself that within this Chamber popular passion and prejudice have no influence. My Lords, to woo and to win the popular ear is not the ambition of many of your Lordships; but that fact does not render the task of addressing you for the first time any easier. It is, therefore, on general grounds that I claim your indulgence, and there are special grounds likewise upon which I shall claim it. This is a special summons to Parliament, and it has met for a special purpose. The subject which you have to discuss is one of no ordinary importance; and in attempting to address your Lordships upon it I cannot but consider for a moment the circumstances that have occurred. I see before me statesmen of profound and lengthened experience; I see before me old and skilled diplomatists; I see Secretaries and ex-Secretaries and ex-Viceroys of India; and I see, likewise, military men of the highest and most exalted rank, and profound in the science and the arts "No man can doubt that the approach of Russia towards the North-Western Frontier of India may involve us in great difficulties." My Lords, the Viceroy who wrote this was Sir John Lawrence, and the Secretary of State for India was the Duke of Argyll; and I venture, my Lords, to think they are fitting words to open the allude to these plain words, because I discussion of the subject which you are about to deal with. They were prophetic words then, my Lords, and they have come true now; they are the " "keynote" of this debate. Now, my Lords, I trust that in discussing this matter we shall not blink this question, because it is a question upon which we should not speak with bated breath; and I think-in fact, I firmly believe that a plain outspoken Parliamentary debate upon the question of Central Asia will do more than anything else to effect that which every statesman and lover of his country ought to desire-namely, to bring about an understanding between Russia and England upon that question. I venture to think, my Lords, that plain speaking will do more to accomplish that end than the whispers of Cabinets, the words of Generals, or the wiles of diplomacy. My Lords, the Frontier policy-or rather the policy that should guide us with respect to the Frontier of our North-Western Provinces in India-is a question that has occupied and taxed the energies of our greatest statesmen, and for years almost has appeared to baffle their efforts at solution. I should like to remind your Lordships that there has existed for a long time two distinct schools of policy on that subject; and they are, if I may use the expression for the sake of argument, what I may term the backward school and the forward school of Indian politicians. To give some idea of the bent of mind of the backward school, I would draw your Lordships' attention to an event of some importance In the first place, allow me to refer to my own position for one moment. I can assure your Lordships, with all sincerity, that I would not have allowed myself to be placed in this prominent position if I did not entertain the firm conviction and belief that Her Majesty's Government as far back as the year 1857, when | Court of Parliament should ascertain, by an eminent Indian statesman proposed careful examination, whether they are the abandonment of Peshawur and true or not. My Lords, I am here tothe cession of it and a portion of the night charged with the duty of opening neighbouring district to Dost Mahomed. the case for the defence against these I do not allude to that matter now by charges, and I must ask your Lordway of criticism, for that is unnecessary; ships' indulgence once again while I but I may mention, in passing, that this do so. rather remarkable proposal was stoutly combatted at the time by Sir Sidney Cotton, and that great and good man, Colonel Edwards, afterwards Sir Herbert Edwards, and the Viceroy of that day, Lord Canning, rejected the proposal. I allude to this as an indication of the length to which the disciples of the back-were justified in the course that they ward school have been, and may be now, prepared to go. My Lords, when doctors differ the patient suffers, and in this case the patient is the Indian Empire. I think he would be a bold statesman who would get up and attempt, looking at the intrigues and conspiracies, the insurrections, the mischief, and the danger that might result to our Indian Empire from delay, to recommend that we should wait until these two schools had settled their differences. I venture to think, my Lords, that the time for argument has passed-that the time for action has arrived. Now, my Lords, to speak plainly. Her Majesty's Gracious Speech has informed us that we are at war in Afghanistan, and I venture to call your Lordships' attention to that little word "in," for I am rejoiced that we are not at war with Afghanistan-we are at war with the Ameer, but not with his subjects; and if we can trust the Manifesto which has been issued by the Government of India it is not a war of ambition-it is not a war of aggression, it is not a war of annexation-but it is a war for the support of the honour of the Crown, the dignity of the nation, and the safety of our Indian Empire. Now, my Lords, very serious accusations have been largely and liberally levelled at Her Majesty's Ministers for some time past. They have been accused of having entered into this war recklessly, hastily, and without justification, and even, my Lords, wickedly, for I have seen the word wickedly used, and by a noble Lord who I did not expect would use such an expression. My Lords, these are grave charges. They are more than charges-they are impeachments-and if they be just and true, I think it is time that the High have taken, and I go beyond that and say that there was no other course which in honour they could have pursued. Now, my Lords, in order to make good the position that I have ventured to take, I must begin by asking your Lordships' permission to review and give a brief history of the past position of affairs, and to make a short retrospect of our relations with Shere Ali. First of all, my Lords, it is my duty to remind you that so far back as 1855 a Treaty was concluded between the old East India Company and the father of the present Ameer, Dost Mahomed. It was short and simple, and in its terms it was a Treaty of friendship and amity. It was a Treaty that bound both signatories to respect the integrity of each other's territories; but it is to the third portion of that Treaty to which I particularly wish to refer. It bound the Ameer to be the friend of our friends and the enemy of our enemies; but there was no such obligation on our part, and it is clear that the Ameer always considered the Treaty as a one-sided instrument. Moreover, my Lords, Lord Canning himself has so described that Treaty, and it is important to bear that fact in mind. In 1856 an important engagement was entered into between the Government of India and the old Ameer, which had reference mainly to the war with Persia, then going on, and there were certain engagements as to a subsidy, which I shall have to allude to by-and-bye. In 1863 Dost Mahomed died, and the Ameer-Shere Ali-notified the event to our Government in a very proper and respectful manner. He informed the Indian Government of the death of his father; but it so happened from some reason or other, of which I |