Mr. Humesaid, that as he was anxious that good order and good fellowship should be maintained throughout the debates upon the important question which was to occupy their attention that evening, he was desirous to put one or two questions to the right hon. Gentleman in the Chair, with regard to the order and rule as to Members taking their places. Having understood, on Friday, that an attempt would be made to dispossess him (Mr. Hume) from the place in which he usually sat, he requested a friend to come down that morning, and put his name in his place, and he came down to the House himself shortly after ten o'clock. He then found that some person had been down as early as seven o'clock, and had put down the names of about 200 Members in that quarter of the House, so that several Gentlemen who usually sat near him (Mr. Hume) were obliged to seek for seats in other parts of the House. Now, as the House, on separating on Friday last, adjourned till ten of the clock on that morning, he wished, in the first instance, to know whether it was competent for any individual to come down previous to that hour, and put down the names of 200 or 300 Members in places in that House, and whether, if the doing so gave them any right to those places, unless they 649 retained them up to the time when the right hon. Gentleman took the Chair? It was absolutely necessary that they should have a definite rule laid down on the subject, in order to prevent disputes. When he (Mr. Hume) came down that morning, he found that the name of Colonel Lindsay had been put up in his place. He took down the name of the hon. Member from his place, as it had been affixed there before eight o'clock, and he put it up in the place immediately behind him. That hon. Member, however, being clown when the House met, about two minutes before him (Mr. Hume), he could not dispossess him, and he therefore took down the name of Colonel Lindsay without ceremony from the place where he had affixed it, and he retained that place. If it were competent for hon. Members to take places in that way, before ten o'clock in the morning, it would be competent for a Member to do so at three o'clock in the morning, and as he (Mr. Hume) left the House at a later hour than most hon. Members, he would certainly do so, unless they had a definite rule to guide them on the subject.
§ The Speakersaid, that with respect to the taking of places, there had certainly, lately, been more differences between hon. Members than there had ever been before, owing as well, perhaps, to the importance of the subject under debate, as to the unusually numerous attendance of Members. The rule upon the subject he looked upon to be this—that seats were only taken by Members being present in them at prayers; and it appeared to him, that the affixing of names in the seats previous to prayers, was a sort of intimation that those who did so would/be present at prayers; and that therefore such seats, as a matter of courtesy, would not be interfered with. But the right to a seat could only be obtained by being present at prayers. The House was not open for any business whatever, except for cleaning, previous to the hour to which it was adjourned every morning. He believed, that what had been stated by the hon. member for Middlesex had therefore occurred in this way;: that when the doors were unlocked, early in the morning, for the purpose of having the 'house cleaned, some person walked in, and put down the names of several Members. The hon. Member must see, that it was impossible, except by general consent, to prevent differences on a mat- 650 ter of the kind, and that there would be no use in laying down a rule on the subject, unless there was a common disposition to accommodate one another. He repeated, that it was by being present at prayers, that hon. Gentlemen could alone secure a right to seats; that though the putting up of names before that time did not secure seats, it was a security for them after it; and that the right to seats was lost if there should be a division, or if the House should go up to the House of Lords. That was the only parliamentary way of securing seats, and he trusted that the hon. member for Middlesex would see that a spirit of general courtesy and accommodation on the part of hon. Members, would do more than any strict rule upon the subject.
§ Mr. George Robinsonsaid, he would take that opportunity of stating, that the rule which had heretofore prevailed, of Members putting down their names for the presentation of petitions, had recently been infringed on. He had come to the House the other day, and found some Members had placed their names on the paper at seven or eight o'clock in the morning.
§ The Speakersaid, the rule which was observed on this subject last Session, had been found perfectly satisfactory. An hon. Member attended at ten o'clock in the morning, and called out the names of hon. Members as they stood on the list in rotation, and those who did not answer were struck out.
§ Mr. Huntsaid, the rule which the Speaker had mentioned, had been acted upon last Session, and he had heard no complaint against it.
Colonel Lindsaybegged to inquire, whether a Member was entitled to a place to which he had affixed his name?
§ The Speaker. Not unless he be present in that place during prayers.