HC Deb 10 March 1857 vol 144 cc2120-6
VISCOUNT PALMERSTON

Mr. Speaker; It was my duty yesterday, Sir, to be the organ of the regrets of this House at the communication which you felt it your duty to make to them, and of their concern that the next Parliament are not to have the benefit of your assistance in conducting their deliberations. I have to-day a task to perform of a nature more agreeable to myself, and one which I am sure will be more acceptable to the House. I have to propose to this House to return, by their unanimous vote, their Thanks to you, Sir, for your able and distinguished services in the chair during the long period of nearly eighteen years for which you have occupied it. [General and sustained cries of "Hear, hear!"] Sir, that man must have been a very superficial observer of the proceedings of Parliament who has not remarked in how essential a degree the usefulness, the respectability, and the influence of this House must depend upon the manner in which the man who occupies that chair performs the duties which he has to discharge. In a great assembly like this, composed of so many persons coming from all parts of the country, it is obvious that unless the person who regulates their proceedings inspires among the Members of the House that temper, forbearance, and equanimity which he himself possesses, this House might be led by the warmth of discussion and by the agitation of public questions to depart from that order, moderation, and regularity of proceeding which are so essential to maintain in the public opinion that respect which is due to this branch of the Legislature. Sir, it is needless, I am sure, to say in how eminent a degree you have performed your functions. It is needless to remind those who have witnessed your proceedings, how you have combined promptitude of decision, justness of judgment, and firmness of purpose, with the most conciliatory manners—["Hear, hear!"]—and how that dignity—that natural dignity—which belongs to you, and which is most striking when it is accompanied by simplicity of mind and by the absence of all artificial affectation—["Hear, hear!"]—how that natural dignity which adorns yourself has been communicated through your direction to the general proceedings of the Commons' House of Parliament. Sir, not only have you discharged in the most exemplary and useful manner your duties in that chair, but there are other duties, I will not say less important, but nearly as important, which the Speaker of this House has to perform out of the chair. I am sure that I shall meet with the concurrence of every Gentleman who listens to me when I say that no Member ever approached you for the purpose of obtaining that information with respect to our proceedings, either public or private, which it was his wish to receive, without experiencing from you not only the most courteous reception, not only the most ready hearing, but also the most accurate information in regard to the subject upon which it was his desire and his duty to consult you. There is another matter, Sir, in which you have been eminently conducive to the interests of this House. Our forms of procedure are founded upon ancient usage. Many of them were, no doubt, the result of accident, or perhaps of design, at periods when those forms were more essential than at present to maintain the principles on which you, Sir, have had the judgment to discriminate between the principles which ought ever to be upheld and the technical forms which might be varied and modified without detriment to the public, and you have, by the suggestions which you have from time to time made, contributed much to the despatch of business in this House, to the advantage of the country, and the convenience of the Members of this body. ["Hear, hear!"] I am convinced. Sir, that in what I have been saying I have been only expressing the feelings which animate every Gentleman who hears me; and that in moving the Address which I propose to submit to the House I shall only be embodying the sentiments naturally arising in the minds of all who sit in this assembly. ["Hear, hear!"] I therefore, Sir, move— That the thanks of this House be given to Mr. Speaker, for his eminent and distinguished services during the period of nearly eighteen years for which he has filled the Chair of this House; that he be assured that this House fully appreciates the zeal and ability with which he has discharged the duties of Speaker under circumstances requiring unprecedented labour and exertion; and that this House entertains the strongest sense of the firmness and dignity with which he has maintained its privileges, of his unremitting attention to its business, of the care which he has devoted to the improvement of its forms, and of the urbanity and kindness which have uniformly marked his conduct in the Chair, and which have secured for him the esteem and gratitude of every Member of this House.

[The speech of the noble Viscount was accompanied throughout by general and most cordial indications of assent.]

MR. DISRAELI

Sir, I have the honour to second the Motion of the noble Lord, and to express on behalf of the Gentlemen who sit on the left of the chair their entire concurrence with the description which the noble Lord has given of your high qualities, and in the estimate he has offered of the services which, unfortunately, we are about to lose. Sir, we too can bear witness to the blended firmness and courtesy with which you have regulated our debates, and which, when necessary, have controlled them. We, too, can bear witness to that learning which has guided and enlightened our labours. We, too, can hear witness to that high bearing which at all times and under all circumstances, even the most trying, has sustained the dignity of the exalted office which you have filled. Sir, the eighteen years during which you have occupied the chair have been a memorable period in the history of the Parliament of this country. Some of the greatest measures that have ever been proposed in the councils of the nation have been carried during that period; and some of the greatest men that have ever flourished within these walls have been under your guidance. Sir, I make no doubt that in the page of history your Speakership under those circumstances will figure as no unimportant one in the Parliamentary annals of this country. The severance of ties so long, so intimately, and so cordially maintained between you, Mr. Speaker, and this House cannot be witnessed without deep emotion. I confess myself, Sir, utterly unequal to the language of panegyric—I confess myself, Sir, at this moment unequal to offer you those compliments which you so well deserve; yet I can express to you, for those who sit on this side of the House, and I may perhaps presume to say for all present—[Cheers]— certainly for him, Sir, whom you have often so condescendingly aided and guided by your counsel—the tribute of our affectionate respect—[loud cries of "Hear! hear!"]—the hope, Sir, that when your name is mentioned in your absence in this House you will believe that it will always be quoted with regard and reverence—["Hear! hear!"]—and our anxious and earnest wishes that in the comparative retirement which may await you, you may enjoy that perfect satisfaction which you have so worthily earned.

[The speech of the right hon. Gentleman was also accompanied by continued and general cries of approbation, but markedly from the Opposition side of the House.]

LORD JOHN RUSSELL

—Although, Sir, it is quite unnecessary to add anything to the eloquent speeches in which my noble. Friend at the head of the Government and the right hon. Gentleman opposite have expressed the sense entertained by the House of your merits during the long period you have filled that chair, yet for my own gratification it may, perhaps, be permitted to me, having been brought much into personal relation with, you, to say a few words. I cannot but feel, Sir, that during the whole of that period, the manner in which you have conducted the business of the House has greatly facilitated the proper transaction of the business. I cannot forget that at the period when you were elected you succeeded to one of the most distinguished Members of this House—a man eminent for his learning, and who for many years had taken a prominent part in the debates of this House, and who spoke, therefore, with the authority which accompanied that learning and that experience of the affairs of Parliament. But, Sir, although you might seem so far to have been placed at a disadvantage, yet your merit so speedily attracted the respect and affection of this House—["Hear, hear!"]—I may say you so thoroughly won the heart of the House—["Hear, hear!"]—That the exercise of your authority became comparatively easy, and every person was ready, whatever were his previous prepossessions, whatever his previous wish to persevere in some course of which you disapproved, to bow at once to a single word from you. Sir, these Qualities have not only been of the greatest advantage in conducting the ordinary business of the House, but you have been able by these means to facilitate, in a great degree, a transition to more speedy forms which had become necessary from the increasing pressure of business in this House. You have been able, Sir, to discriminate with nicety and judgment where it was possible to depart from ancient and accustomed forms, without surrendering any important or useful privilege. You have accurately marked out the line where it was advantageous to concede, and where it was necessary to resist innovations on our established forms. Sir, I believe there is nothing in our old institutions more artfully contrived, nor more useful for carrying on the business and debates of a free assembly, than the modes of procedure and the regular order of business of this House; but at the same time it is difficult strictly to keep up all those orders without in some degree delaying business. Further changes may, perhaps, yet have to be made, and I can only hope that, whoever may have the honour to succeed you in that chair, we may find in him the same qualities, the same excellent judgment, the same power of wielding authority, and the same art of conciliating the goodwill and affection of the House, which you have always so conspicuously displayed. ["Hear, hear!"] Sir, I beg only further to express my extreme regret, accompanied with that, I am sure, of every Member of this House, that we have on this occasion to take our final leave of you, and that the succeeding Parliament will not have the advantage of your presence. [Continued cheers.]

The Question was then put and carried, Nemine Contradicente, amid loud cheers.

Then MR. SPEAKER

addressed the House as follows:—

[On the right hon. Gentleman rising, the Members, as by spontaneous impulse took off their hats, and listened to his address uncovered.]

During the long period in which, by God's blessing, I have been enabled to discharge the duties of this Chair, I have had abundant experience of the kindness, forbearance, and indulgence of the House, which they have shown to me under all circumstances, and on all occasions. But I have not words at my command, nor can I sufficiently control my feelings, so as adequately to express my gratitude for this crowning mark of their favour and approbation. I can only assure the House, that I shall cherish to the last moment of my existence, the remembrance of the proceedings of this day, and of the Resolution to which this House has unanimously agreed,—this great and inestimable reward for public service: and in all sincerity, and from the very bottom of my heart, I thank them for the distinguished honour which they have conferred upon me.

VISCOUNT PALMERSTON

I am sure that the House would not be satisfied If we were to abstain from completely following the precedents which have been set us on occasions of a similar nature. It has been the practice of this House, when it has been deprived of the services of Speakers who have long and ably filled that chair, not to content themselves simply with the expression of their own Thanks, but to give to the Crown an opportunity of going hand in hand with them in the acknowledgment of great and eminent services. I shall, therefore, without further preface, move— That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying Her Majesty, that She will be most graciously pleased to center some signal mark of Her Royal favour upon the right hon. Charles Shaw Lefevre, Speaker of this House, for his great and eminent services performed to his country, during the long and important period in which he has with such distinguished ability and integrity presided in the Chair of this House; and to assure Her Majesty that whatever expense Her Majesty shall think proper to be incurred upon that account, this House will make good the same.

SIR JOHN PAKINGTON

Although, like the noble Lord opposite, I feel that it is impossible to add anything to the eloquence with which the last Vote was moved and seconded, yet I hope that I shall be allowed the great gratification of seconding the Motion just proposed. Sir, I am one of those Members—now, comparatively speaking, few in number—who have had the honour of a seat in Parliament throughout the whole of the eighteen years during which you have so honourably filled that chair. Eighteen years ago, when you were elected to it, I sat, as now, on this side of the House. I was not fortunate enough to be one of the majority by which you were chosen, but I believe that I do but express the universal feeling of those who hear me, when I say, that from the day of your election the Members of the minority equally with the Members of that majority have been influenced by one unanimous feeling of gratitude for your kindness, of admiration for the manner in which you have fulfilled your public duties, and of that deep and sincere private friendship which I am sure must animate every one who has the good fortune to approach you. [Cheers.] I can, therefore, assure the House, that sharing on this side the House the feelings, and reciprocating the language we have heard from the noble Lord, I express the deep regret we feel that this House is hereafter to lose the advantage which we have derived from your services, and we sincerely hope that your retirement may be as happy as it is well earned. [Continued cheers.]

The Motion was put and carried, Nemine Contradicente.

Ordered, That the said Address be presented to Her Majesty by such Members of this House as are of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council.

VISCOUNT PALMERSTON

I beg now to move, Sir, that the Thanks of the House, be given to Mr. Speaker for what he has this day said to the House, and that the same be entered in the Journals of this House.

Resolved, Nemine Contradicente.