§ Sir R. Peeladdressed himself to Lord Althorp across the Table, and was understood to say, that as the Order of the House had already been made for the appointment of a Committee upon the Civil List, his Majesty's Ministers ought to move to rescind that order, and then to appoint another committee, as it would be very irregular and improper to keep the present committee in abeyance merely upon a private understanding that the noble Lord was preparing papers, and getting ready propositions to lay before it. He apprehended that another committee could not be appointed, nor could the subject, with propriety, be taken out of the hands of the present Committee, unless the House first rescinded the order for its appointment.
§ Mr. J. Woodsaid, that he had heard the proposition of the noble Lord with very great pleasure, and he felt convinced that the proposition of the noble Lord would be well received by that House, and, what was of greater importance, by the country at large. That Ministers should take a vote of credit in order to give themselves time to re-model the Civil List, and to ascertain how far they could meet the wishes of the country for retrenchment, was a proposition reasonable in itself, and nothing could be better calculated to ensure the approbation of the people out of doors, and to ensure likewise, not the approbation of "the party" within Parliament, but of the no-party to which he belonged,—the no-party, which never meant to combine in any opposition to Ministers, with a view of getting round again to those places out of which they had just been turned by the voice of the country. Considering the quarter from which the objection came,—from a person who had so lately been the leader of that House, and in occupation of a place on the Ministerial Benches,—he thought, of all men on earth, the hon. Baronet ought to be the last to throw unnecessary impediments in the way of the noble Lord. Such seemed to him to be the conduct of the hon. Baronet, who appeared to him to have said, "I will give Ministers no time whatever to prepare a Civil List,—a 800 Committee is formed, and to that Committee ought immediately to be referred the Civil List got up by the preceding Treasury Bench." For his own part, he was happy to say that he thought Ministers were now pursuing a course which would entitle them to the confidence of the country, and he was convinced that the people of England would cordially approve of their taking time to consider the reductions in the Civil List, in order to lay them before that Committee, which the hon. Baronet should recollect had been appointed in direct opposition to the wishes and efforts of himself and of those who so recently acted with him.
§ Sir R. Peel—Mr. Speaker, I never heard such a speech as that in my life. Is it for the hon. Gentleman, because I chose to put a question to his Majesty's Ministers on the course they means to pursue, to lecture me?—Does the hon. Gentleman consider himself entitled to lecture me, I say, upon throwing impediments in the way of his Majesty's Government? Impediments!—what impediments have I thrown in the way of the noble Lord? The noble Lord may, perhaps be perfectly reasonable, perfectly right in his wish that Government should have time to consider what Civil List they will propose to the Committee, and that the Committee shall not meet until the proposition is ready to be made. But what I say is, that an order of the House is already made that a Select Committee be appointed, and yet the noble Lord says he shall not be prepared to make any proposal to that Committee until after the Christmas recess, and therefore two months must elapse before the Committee can sit with effect. If this be so, surely there ought to be some distinct proceeding on the part of the House to sanction the non-meeting of the Committee. The hon. Gentleman says, because I was against the appointment of that Committee, I ought to be ready to acquiesce in the proposal of the noble Lord. Sir, we are to consider the orders of the House, and not the sentiments of individuals. If the noble Lord thinks that the Committee ought not to meet till after the Christmas recess, this postponement should have the direct sanction of the House.
§ Lord Althorpsaid, that he could recollect even in the last Session of Parliament that a Committee had been appointed upon the motion of the right hon. Baronet 801 himself, to inquire into the Superannuation List, and which committee did not sit until six weeks after. He did not think his proposition either new or extraordinary, for every Member of that House who had been accustomed to sit on committees was well aware that their sitting depended very much upon the convenience of the Members composing them, and likewise on the convenience of the public business. If he had moved to rescind the Order of the House, he should only have to move the re-appointment of the committee when the propositions were ready to be brought forward. He had left the arrangement upon the usual understanding that the committee should not meet until it was convenient.
§ Mr. Crokersaid it would be better to appoint a new committee.
§ Mr. Courtenaythought it best to withdraw the papers before the committee, and to substitute others.