§ Mr. Sheridansaid, no person was more disposed to respect the general standing orders of the house than he was, and he was sure that when any member moved that any of these orders should be enforced, it was from the impulse of the best motives. The proceedings, however, which were sometimes adopted with respect to the order for the exclusion of strangers, seemed to him to require to be explained, and to be placed on more satisfactory grounds. When it was considered that strangers were, by the standing order, never to be admitted, no construction of that standing order could be interpreted into a right of commanding those to withdraw, who were to he presumed not to be present. The words of the standing order were not to admit strangers, and if any stranger intruded, the order provided that he should be taken into custody by the serjeant at arms. He did not think it right that a matter of such moment should he left in so undefined a state, and after what had happened yesterday, it became more necessary than ever to come to a fixed understanding upon it. If the public was not to be allowed to know what the state of the nation was, it was hard to say what it should be allowed to know. He therefore gave notice, that he meant on Friday to draw the attention of the house to this subject.
Mr. Dennis Brownewas extremely sorry if any thing had fallen from him contrary to the general sense of the house. The fact was, that he had not moved that the gallery should be cleared, but on hearing things fall from the hon. gent. which he thought might be injurious, if suffered to go abroad, he thought it his duty to notice that there were strangers in the house; and it appeared, that when once such a deviation from the standing order was noticed, there was no discretion for him, or for the Speaker, or for the house; it must necessarily and immediately be enforced.
§ The Speakersaid, that as this matter was mentioned, he thought it his duty to state what was the present practice and usage of the house, and what, as being the usage, he thought it his duty to adopt and enforce, 745 till it should be altered. Whether the house should lightly alter a usage so established, would be for its consideration. From the standing order, forbidding the admission of strangers, it was clear they could be in the house only by sufferance. For enforcing the exclusion, if necessary, the standing order directed that those who intruded themselves should be taken into the custody of the serjeant at arms. But this he looked upon only as a mode of getting rid of their presence if it should be an inconvenience, or if they should improperly come in, or persist in remaining. With respect to the obligation of enforcing the order, it was indispensable: if any member noticed the presence of strangers, he (the Speaker) had no choice, the house had no choice, they must be put forth. This was the ancient and established usage. If the house should now be disposed to alter it, it would do well to consider whether any new practice that might be substituted would accord equally well with its dignity or its convenience.
§ Mr. Whitbreadwished the ancient and established usage on this head to remain unaltered, for, although he deprecated, as much as his hon. friend, the exclusion of strangers, he was satisfied no new arrangement with respect to them would be equally conducive to the dignity and the convenience of the house. The right of exclusion had been seldom exercised, and in the course of his experience, he had never known it to he exercised with advantage. The exclusion of last night was particularly unwise. It seemed the hon. gent. thought something that he had said would have an injurious effect on the public mind, if suffered to go abroad. But the expression, whatever it was, that struck the hon. gent. as improper, did go abroad. If what he had said was capable of refutation, it ought to go abroad, accompanied by the refutation. If it could not be refuted, it ought to go abroad with the authority of incontrovertible truth. The member who enforced the right of exclusion ought to be sure that he exercised it with a sound discretion.