The Enquirer

HOUSE OF COMMONS, Dec. 11.

AMERICA.

Mr. Whitbread wished to be informed by the noble Lord (Lord Castlereagh) when the documents respecting the American negotiation would be laid on the table? The President's message had alluded to two offers for the suspension of hostilities, one immediately before Mr. Russell quitted this country. He wished to know something about this second offer; but what he particularly wished was that the papers should be laid on the table and printed before the recess, so that members might read them and have time to make up their minds upon them.

Although many members had attended to the question so much, as to be ready soon to take up the whole chain of the negotiation, yet there were many members who had not paid the same attention to the subject. He thought it particularly necessary that those papers should be early printed & distributed to the members, as this was a new Parliament and many of the new members would require time to study all those documents which would probably be somewhat voluminous.

Lord Castlereagh said, that no time would be lost in printing those papers, and distributing them to the members, as it was his intention, very soon after the recess, to call the attention of the House to them, and take the opinion of Parliament upon them. Some of those documents—the President's message, for example—were not officially in the possession of ministers, although they had no reason to doubt the authenticity of the report of it, which everybody had seen. Among those documents when laid before the house, there would appear a proposition made to his Majesty's ministers in a manner quite unofficial, after Mr. Russell had left this country.' Upon the answer to that document, as well as upon the whole of the case, he should be anxious to take the sense of Parliament soon after the recess

The papers would be printed & distributed as soon as possible.