Commons Sitting of 11 February 1807

Finance Committee
Mr. Biddulphmoved that the name of Mr. Ellison be added to the list of persons appointed yesterday as a select committee for the purpose of examining into the salaries and emoluments annexed to public offices.
Mr. Bathurstdeclared that he could not avoid resisting a motion of this nature. The committee at present consisted of 22 instead of 21, the more usual number of members; and, if the practice of adding names to a select committee were to be encouraged by the house acceding to the proposal of adding any name, however respectable, to a committee already so numerous, as this was, instead of select they would have almost general committees, when they were voted to be select ones, as every other member would have an equal right to propose the addition of whatever person he might think particularly, qualified to serve on the committee then spoken of. If one was to be proposed in the stead of another, however disagreeable it might be to their feelings, gentlemen must see that that would be a fair ground of discussion.
Mr. Calvertsupported the motion on the ground of the probability that some of the members might be absent from their duty at the committee; and adverted to an instance where he had seen only one honourable member, (Mr. Bathurst) acting in a committee-room.
Mr. Bathurstexplained to the house that he was at that time engaged in making abstracts from the statements which were in the voluminous documents before the committee. It would be perfectly useless for 14 or 15 persons to attempt to perform such a task. In this he could only suppose that he acted as an assitant to the clerk, and not that he personated the committee.
Lord H. Pettyreminded the heuse that the committee of finance, whose labours were esteemed to be particularly advantageous to the public, and with whom the house was most particularly well satisfied,

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consisted of only 15 members, and yet, now that the plan was completely designed before them, when the labour must necessarily have been considerably decreased, the house was to be told that 22 persons were not equal to the task. The names had not been chosen by ballot; they were each announced singly in an open manner to the house, and were thus the polled representatives of the whole body of the house. He appealed to the house itself, whether there was any possibility of there being a committee more impartially chosen; they were a selection of the men most eminent for their talent and independence within those walls, and might be said to have been called from every class of men, except that class which most assuredly the hon. gent. could not think the best qualified for acting on a committee, such as that of which they were then speaking; the class of placemen he meant. He had not, for his own part, the smallest objection to the gentleman alluded to being one of the committee; but then his name should have been mentioned before a committee of 22 persons were actually chosen by the house.
Mr. Johnstonedeclared, that the noble Lord had not satisfied his mind upon this head. The former committee, he agreed with the noble lord in saying, had discharged their duty in a manner highly creditable to themselves, and beneficial to the service of the public. He had no doubt also that the present committee were as eminently qualified as the noble lord had described, to perform the task assigned to them with honour and ability. But still he thought it was rather hard that, after his hon. friend had suggested the propriety of adopting a measure, though he unquestionably was not so capable of supporting it as the noble lord was, and though the noble lord entirely concurred with him, and supported him in the main object of his motion, with only some little variation of terms; he still thought it was rather hard that his hon. friend should not be allowed to name one person for the committee. There had been instances of names being added to select committees on many former occasions.
Mr. Freemantlealso bore testimony to the respectability of the names on the present list; in fact he could not see that it was possible to select 22 more independent, more capable, or more honourable men. As to precedent, he did not think that it was necessary to be resorted to in such a
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case as the present; but even on the score of precedent, he understood that it was contrary to the established usage of the house to add any names after the complete appointment of a finance committee.—The gallery was then cleared for a division, but the motion was withdrawn.