Commons Sitting of 14 January 1819

CHOICE OF A SPEAKER.
At eleven o'clock the Lord Steward commenced administering the usual oaths in the Long Gallery, and as the members were sworn they entered the House. By two o'clock above two hundred members were present, and at half after two the gentleman usher of the Black Rod appeared at the bar to announce, that the Lords appointed by Commission to open the parliament required the attendance of that House in the House of Peers, to hear the said Commission read. Mr. Dyson, the deputy clerk, followed by a number of members, accordingly proceeded to the House of Peers. And the House being returned,
The Right Hon. Robert Peel,addressing himself to Mr. Dyson, deputy to the clerk of the House (who standing up, pointed to him, and then sat down) spoke to the following effect:
Sir; I rise to address you in consequence of the message which has just be being communicated to us at the bar of the Houses of Lords, and in conformity with long established custom; by which we are directed to proceed to the performance of a duty, which, although the first in point of time, is certainly inferior to none with respect to its importance. That duty is, the election from amongst our number of a fit and proper person to act in the dignified situation of Speaker. In performing that duty, I need not say that it peculiarly behoves us to select a person duly qualified to discharge the: functions of an office so distinguished as almost to be considered a separate branch of the legislature;—an office: which has this peculiar character, that it is the only
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high and important situation in the state which does not depend on the nomination of the crown, but which proceeds entirely from the election of the people. The office of Speaker of the House of Commons is of a character not more remarkable for its great antiquity, than on account of the extent of the trust reposed in the individual appointed to that high situation. Its duties are so many and important, and the House is so accustomed to witness their performance, so deeply interested in their due discharge, that it would be superfluous, and indeed presumptuous in me to enter at large into their detail. Every one who now hears me, oven those who now attend here for the first time to assist in our deliberations, must be aware of the duties which the Speaker has to perform in this House. To him it belongs to preside over all our proceedings, to deliver his opinion with promptitude and decision on any disputed point referred to his consideration, to preserve order in the discussions of the House, to regulate its forms, to exercise its collective authority, to denounce its censure, and to communicate those testimonies of national approbation and gratitude, which must ever form the strongest excitement and the highest reward to honourable minds. I should be ashamed of enlarging on this topic if I were not enabled to avail myself of the emphatic language of a celebrated personage who filled the chair in the time of Chariest the 1st—I mean Mr. Serjeant Glanville— which, although it savours somewhat of the quaintness of antiquity fully described the duties attached to this important office. "I am elected said he," to be the mouth, indeed the servant of the House of Commons; to steer, watchfully and pradently, in at their weighty consultations and debates; to collect faithfully and readily the genuine sense of a numerous assembly; to pro-pound the same seasonably, and to would it into apt questions for final resolutions; and so represent them and their conclusions, their declarations and petitions, upon all urgent occasions, with truth, with right, with life, with luster, and with full advantage to your most excellent majesty."* But those duties of the Speaker which are discharged within our walls, constitute but a small and not the most important, part of the great func-
*Parliamentary History, vol. 2, p. 535.

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tions committed to him. Not only is he selected for the guardian of our own rights—we also select him for the performance of duties in which the people at large are no less interested than ourselves—duties, the execution of which must affect even the remotest posterity. We do not select him merely to make a formal demand of those rights and privileges which were claimed and asserted by our ancestors, which are as much ours as our lives, and general liberties—no, we select; him as the centinel to guard against all slight encroachments on our privileges, to detect those trivial departures from established forms which are the more dangerous because, from their apparent want of importance, they are likely to escape attention, and because the danger to be apprehended from them seems to be too remote to demand an immediate interference. The necessity of providing a check against such contingencies is pointed out by reason and history. It has been well remarked, that in all free and of course complicated governments, at some period or other, cases would occur when the interests of the different established orders of the state would clash, and questions would arise on the particular privileges of each. Without the exertion of unremitting vigilance, it is impossible to guard against encroachments pregnant with the most dangerous consequences. It is impossible for any person to take the most imperfect view of the history of this House, it is impossible for any person to throw the most rapid and cursory glance over its increased influence in the state, without perceiving the immense importance of that unrelaxing jealousy with which we have almost invariably resisted the slightest encroachment on our privileges. To nothing are we so much indebted for the enjoyment of that right which the House has most at heart, which establishes its equality with the ether branch of the legislature—I mean the right of originating taxes, of commencing every measure in which the public money is concerned; that great privilege by which we can rebut every attempt from any ether quarter to interfere with the property of the people—to no cause are we so much indebted for the preservation of that right as to the constant and anxious solicitude with which the House of Commons has looked out for and provided against dangers, the approach of which
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could be detected only by the keenest eye. It is not possible to examine the Journals of the House without remarking the scrupulous nicety with which it has regarded a departure from the most minute forms. Danger it was felt might be connected with an amendment to some private bill, with an alteration in some penalty, with a charge in some appropriation, or with some other matter, equally trivial in appearance, which inattention or neglect might pass over unnoticed, but which in the result might affect, not merely those immediately interested, but even the remotest generations.
For the adequate performance of such duties as I have described, it is evident that great and various qualifications are necessary—qualifications not inconsistent or incompatible with each other, but which are rarely associated in a single individual. We require of our Speaker, in the discharge of his duty, unwearied attention, prompt decision, the utmost presence of mind, and the greatest facility in the die-patch of business. With these qualifications we demand others that are not commonly supposed to accompany those faculties which characterize men of high ability. We require a mind capable of taking a comprehensive view of the historical events, the commercial relations, and the high political interests of the country, and yet capable of withdrawing itself from the contemplation of such important and interesting subjects, and of descending to the discussion of some insulated principle—to the investigation of some trifling point of order, some almost obsolete form, or some nearly forgotten privilege.
It is, perhaps, necessity for me to make some apology for thus having attempted to detail the various qualifications and duties of the important office under our consideration. The only excuse I have to offer is, the usage on similar occasions, and the great number of gentlemen surrounding me who now sit for the first time, in this house—I will now, however, Sir, proceed to the more immediate object for which I rose, namely, to propose to the House, the selection of an individual to undertake this honourable, but difficult office. And in doing this, I assure the House, that I would not have suffered myself to be betrayed into the proposition which I am about to make by the partiality Of private friendship, if I

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had not felt a strong conviction that it was in unison with the sentiments of the House, and a Confident hope that it Would meet with their unanimous concurrence. I trust, Sir, that in proposing to the House, that he to whom this most important trust was Confided by our predecessors, be continued in the possession of it—that the right honorable Charles Manners Sutton be again placed in our chair—I shall meet with the general support of those whom I have the honor of addressing. The experience we have had of his conduct in that exalted situation, has of course been short. But, such as it has been, I may with confidence appeal to those who hear me, whether it did not fully justify the expectations of his friends, whether it did not bear out all those liberal admissions which were made by those, who, while they recorded their preference of another, gave testimony of the high sense they entertained of his talents and his virtues. Sir, those liberal admissions were drawn forth by the recollection of what his conduct had been in another office, which required for the perfect discharge of its duties, many qualifications similar to those which are necessary for the formation of an efficient Speaker.* The office to which I allude demands constant attention, which is, indeed, indispensable for the administration of all justice, but which is peculiarly necessary for the branch of it that was entrusted to his superintendence, from the great extent of the military body over which he presided. Beyond this the situation re-required great knowledge of mankind, great delicacy (from the nature of the business which was to be transacted, and the rank and habits of those with whom he had to communicate), great patience great vigilance, great equanimity, and deep forethought. The tenor of that office imposed on him the duty of taking a part in the deliberations of this House, when military subjects connected with the functions which he had to discharge, were introduced; and I am sure I can safely say in the presence of those who heard him, and who are immediately interested in those subjects, that while he defended his opinions with warmth and earnestness, he never lost sight of decorous feeling; that while he exhibited the honourable
*From October 1809 to June 1817, Mr. Manners Sutton filled the office of Judge Advocate General.
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zeal and boldness which are inseparable from conscious innocence, he constantly avoided the use of any expression that could wound the feelings of any man. Such, too, was his deportment during the short time that he was in the chair of this house, that should it again be his lot to fill that distinguished situation, he will commence his new career without the risk of encountering a single foe, and his anxiety to avoid overstepping the bounds of moderation and forbearance on every occasion, so essential to the maintenance of the dignity of the chair, gives the best assurance that he never will make one.
Of his other qualities it is unnecessary for me to speak;—his facility of access, his readiness at all times to afford information, his uniformly mild and conciliatory manners; these are well known to all who sat in the late parliament. But, in alluding to the qualifications which I conceive to be necessary in a Speaker, there is one which I wish particularly to notice. Whatever may be his talents and attainments, I consider it absolutely necessary that he should possess the confidence of the House. That confidence, no rank, no talents, no attainments can command, while we bow with ready deference to high integrity and lofty-minded independence. It is upon this principle—on the possession of general confidence, that the individual whom I propose, stands en unassailable ground. He has sought, and he has obtained, the confidence of the House; without which, all the efforts of his authority would be nugatory. It is, Sir, an honorable and perhaps a peculiar distinction of this country, that what is called "private character" is the best foundation for the maintenance of rank and authority; that character commanding the greatest distinction; and shedding; lustre on the brightest talents. Now, Sir, if there be any office in the appointment to which it is peculiarly desirable, that purity and excellence of private character should be attended to, it is that of Speaker of the House of Commons—an office,' the powers of which are often exercised amidst the warmth of party feeling—exercised in the approbation of honourable actions, and the censure of base ones-exercised (it ought never to be forgotten) where the votes of the House are so nearly divided, that we entrust to the Speaker the right of giving force and validity to our resolutions—of imparting the whole weight of law to what would

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otherwise be merely waste-paper. When an honorable confidence is earned and obtained, we then give to the decisions of a Speaker, not a reluctant submission to their force, but a ready acquiescence in their justice. If, Sir, I am right—if I think correctly when I say, that the authority of station is much increased by that respect which we naturally pay to men distinguished by virtue as well as by talents, then I can recommend still more strongly the right hon. gentleman whom I have named; for without being guilty of the indecorum of raising the veil that conceals private life from public observation, I may appeal to every man who knows him, whether throughout his intercourse with mankind, he ever met with an individual of purer principles, of higher honour, of more spotless integrity of character? In times like these, when the acts of public men are not passed lightly over; when no very charitable judgment is commonly pronounced on their motives, his unblemished reputation has nobly stood the test of scrutiny; and he has not only escaped censure, but united all parties in his praise. I therefore move, Sir, "That the right hon. Charles Manners Sutton do take the Chair of this House as Speaker."
Lord Clivesaid:—Sir, when I consider the importance of the situation of Speaker —when I reflect on the abilities necessary to fill it effectively, and the knowledge both of the law and the constitution, which is requisite to enable an individual entrusted with the office satisfactorily to discharge his high duties—I feel that a great difficulty exists in finding an individual competent to so arduous an undertaking. The gentleman who has just been proposed by my right hon. friend, appears to me to possess in a very eminent degree, all the qualifications necessary for the important office in question. In addition to the high, but merited encomiums which have been bestowed upon him by my right hon. friend, may be noticed the great practical knowledge of its arduous duties which he will bring with him to the chair, the patient attention with which, during the short time that he filled it in the last parliament, he listened to every thing which was said on either side of the House, and the impartial decisions he had given on those occasions, when, in the heat of animated discussion, the accustomed rules of debate were supposed to be violated. On all
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such occasions the House will enjoy the benefit of that calm but dignified manner with which—by a temperate and well-timed appeal, without forgetting what was due to the individual in error—he had shown that he can restrain that impetuosity which, if unchecked, would frequently lead to the destruction of the harmony that ought always to attend grave legislative deliberations. On every occasion he has displayed a happy intimacy with our usages and institutions which has called forth general applause and gratitude. His parliamentary learning, his indefatigable diligence, his patient research into the precedents and authorities of former times, deserve the highest encomium. Nor let me forget the perseverance with which he discharged another duty of a very important nature, and not the less important, because not under the public eye, I mean the laborious examination of those private bills by which the disposition of millions of property are annually regulated.—Amongst these and his many other high qualifications, there is one which, although adverted to by my right hon. friend, I cannot prevail on myself to pass over wholly without notice. It is the pure and unblemished character for which he is justly admired by all who have seen or heard any thing of him. Happily, this is in England particularly looked to as a criterion by which to judge of the fitness of an individual, for an office of high trust; but if it be a necessary consideration in the appointment to any office, it is doubly so in the appointment to that of Speaker of the House of Commons. In that situation, as has been so eloquently expressed by my right hon. friend, the mere possession of commanding talents, and an accurate knowledge of the laws, customs, and prerogatives of the House is not sufficient, unless accompanied by our perfect confidence. To prove that these qualifications are possessed by Mr. Sutton, it is only necessary for me to repeat my appeal to his conduct in the last parliament. It is fortunate for those who have the honour of proposing his return to the chair, that we are not recommending a stranger to fill that high office. To the knowledge which the majority of the House have of the manner in which he has already conducted himself as Speaker, he will be more indebted on the present occasion than to any thing that his friends, however truly, can say. The House has had experience

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of him, under circumstances of peculiar difficulty; succeeding as he did an individual, who was perhaps the most eminent of the highly-gifted persons who have filled the situation of Speaker, since the commencement of his present majesty's reign. Under those circumstances, he fulfilled the complicated duties of his office, in a manner that fully entitles him to the eloquent eulogium which my right hon. friend has just pronounced; he secured that character in the House, for attention, impartiality and ability, which completely justifies my right hon. friend, in offering him for our choice this day. That the proposition will be cheerfully supported I cannot doubt; and I could not refuse myself the satisfaction of appearing amongst those who were anxious to do justice to the right hon. gentleman's merits, being perfectly satisfied, that if it should please the House to adopt the recommendation of my right hon. friend, Mr. Sutton, as long as he fills the office of Speaker, will perform his various duties in such a manner as to justify our selection, and to deserve our thanks. He will, I am confident, support the honour and dignity of parliament within our walls; and, whenever it may become necessary to communicate with the other branch, of the legislature, he will secure for himself and for us that respect, which it is desirable that each great body of the state should feel towards the other, Under these circumstances, it would ill become me, after the eloquent speech of my right hon. friend, longer to detain the House, than to state that I most cordially second the motion which has just been made.
Mr. Barnettsaid:—Sir; I do not conceive that I should discharge my duty were I to omit expressing my warm approbation of the present motion. Let it be remembered, as no small tribute to the talents and high character of the right hon. gentleman, that he was in the last parliament called upon to supply the place of a person whose great experience in the chair, whose learning, comprehension, and acuteness, rendered him justly formidable to any successor. And let it also be remembered, that he so closely followed the steps of the distinguished person I allude to, as to rival him in a proper and conscientious discharge of the duties of his high and important office. This resemblance of character is, in my opinion, the highest panegyric which can
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be bestowed on both those distinguished individuals. They have both been actuated by the noblest and most manly zeal, for the maintenance of the honour, dignity, and independence of this House. Such men are pre-eminently worthy, of so great and sacred a trust. In supporting the present motion, I act from a conscientious sense of duty to the House, and to the country; and I most cordially wish the right hon. member about to be elevated to the chair, much health and happiness in the long enjoyment of that great and distinguished situation; being convinced that he will ever continue to perform its various and complicated duties, in the same manner that he has already done— with promptitude, integrity, and impartiality.
The House loudly calling Mr. Manners Sutton to the Chair,
Mr. Manners Suttonstood up in his place, and said:—
"It is impossible for me to express the sincerity of my gratitude to my right hon. and my noble friend for that kind review of my conduct, which their partiality rather than my merits has dictated, and to the House for the manner in which their proposition has been received. I cannot but feel how far my right hon. friend in his address to the House, this day, has been induced, by sentiments of private regard, to overstep his usual accuracy in the enumeration of the qualifications he has attributed to me. To his liberal construction of the performance of my duties I owe the high compliments he has paid me, and I am also fully sensible, in the manner in which they, have been received, how uniformly it is the characteristic of this House, to acknowledge and reward any well-intended exertions in the discharge of the duties which it imposes, however limited may be their character and extent. Of all this kindness and considerate indulgence of the House, I, who stood in so much need, of it, have had abundant proof. And yet the expression of approbation of my former conduct in the chair—that expression too, emanating from those whose good opinion I must ever cherish as the most valuable reward which an honorable man can receive—from those who witnessed my humble services (such as they were) in the discharge of my duties in the last session of parliament—that expression of approbation, I must repeat, is one which necessarily calls forth my warmest grati-

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tude, and must ever impress on my mind, the deep obligations I owe to those who have conferred it on me. In every word which has fallen from my right honourable and my noble friend, respecting the difficulty and importance of the duties of the person who is destined to fill the chair of this House, I fully and entirely concur. They are attended with difficulties in their nature Sufficient to make any man, be he whom he may, distrustful of his own abilities; the more especially when he recollects the able manner in which the functions of the high office in question were performed by the distinguished person whom I had the honour of succeeding. I am, I unfeignedly assure the House, distrustful of my powers for the due discharge of so important a trust. Nevertheless, if it shall be their pleasure a second time to confer on me the high honour of filling that chair, it shall be my constant and unwearied effort to do my best in the fulfilment of its several duties; always relying on that indulgence and kindness of which I have already had such abundant experience."
The cry of "Chair! Chair!" then resounded from all parts of the house; on which Mr. Manners Sutton was conducted from his seat to the chair by Mr. Peel, and lord Clive, where, standing on the upper step, he addressed the House to the following effect:—
"In offering ray most respectful and cordial thanks to the House, for having conferred upon me the highest honour which it has in its power to bestow, I have only, with the utmost sincerity to assure the House, that I will strain every never to justify the choice it has made, by a strict, steatly faithful, and impartial discharge of the duties entrusted to me."
And there upon he sat down in the chair; and then the mace (which before lay under the table) was laid upon the table.
Mr. Canningthen spoke to the following effect:—Sir; In rising to move the adjournment of this House, I cannot refrain from availing myself of the opportunity of congratulating, not so much you, Sir; as the House itself, on the choice Which it has just made of a member to preside over its deliberations. The various and important functions belonging, so accurately and eloquently described, that not one word more need be said on that subject. What we have just heard from you, Sir, is sufficient to prove how
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high your estimate is of your duties, and although you have spoken distrustingly of your qualifications to discharge them, you have pledged your determination to exert yourself to the utmost in the justification of the choice that we have made. But, Sir, however implicit the credit with which we must be disposed to receive the declarations and promises of a man of your character, we have on the present occasion, something more than declarations and promises to assure us of the fulfilment of our expectations. We have, Sir, your own example—we have the experience of your conduct in the term during which you presided over the discussions of the last parliament. You were last year, Sir, elected to the chair of this House, after a contest with a gentleman, to be put in competition with whom is no disparagement, but a high credit to any man, be his character what it may.* Yet, Sir, I am at a loss to say, whether the contest of that day, or the unanimity of this, reflects the greater honour on the object of our choice. In that contest there was not the slightest mixture of those asperities which political rivalry is too apt to engender. Every member gave his vote as his peculiar predilections led him, without evincing the least disposition to undervalue the pretensions of the respective opponents. The unanimity on the present occasion, is as wise as it is generous. Generous—because it offers that homage which past services merit; wise—inasmuch as no man can feel humbled by the uninvidious superiority which the qualifications of the individual whom we have chosen, have acquired by their having been tried. That you may long continue to fill the station to which you have been thus honourably raised, is, I am sure, the wish of every gentleman who hears me. And I am also persuaded that we agree in the confident expectation, that as long as you remain in that high situation, you will preside over our debates with a firm but temperate authority, and, above all, with an impartiality which will show that you consider yourself the servant of the whole house. That you may long go on in the course which has already placed you so high in our estimation, is not more our wish than it is our confident expectation: and as you have on this occasion united
*Mr. Charles Williams Wynn. See vol. 38. p. 843.

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our suffrages, so I am persuaded you will, on all future ones, command our universal respect. As there is no business before the House, it only remains for me, Sir, to move, that we do now adjourn.
The House accordingly adjourned.