§ Mr. Robinsonwished to ask the noble Lord, what arrangement he proposed to make, as to the presentation of petitions, on the next day.
§ Lord Althorpsaid, that it had been agreed, that petitions relative to the Irish Coercive Bill should be presented, and he hoped that hon. Members would adhere to that arrangement which had been made with a view of hearing those petitions which related to the Bill before it passed.
§ Mr. Robinsonsaid, he should take the sense of the House on that subject, when the time came.
Mr. O'Connellhoped the hon. Member would not. It would be of no use to receive the petitions of the people against the Bill after it was passed.
§ Mr. Henry Grattanhoped the hon. Member would waive his intention.
§ Mr. Humethought the hon. member for Worcester should raise the question then, and not wait till the next day.
§ Lord Althorpsaid, it was impossible to raise the question then. The question could only be raised on the presentation of any individual petition; and it might be raised at any time when it was proposed to lay a petition on the Table. It was in the power of any hon. Member to present a petition; but it was in the power of the House to decide that it should not be received. The House, however, had no right to interfere and prevent Members from presenting petitions. There certainly was a general understanding, that the petitions relating to the Irish Bill should alone be presented; but the House could not prevent other petitions being brought before it, if hon. Gentlemen offered them. He had given notice of a motion, to call the attention of the House to the propriety, in the present state of business, of always taking the Orders of the Day before Notices, during the progress of the Irish Bill. He did not intend to take the sense of the House on that Motion, but he only wished that an understanding should be come to on the subject. At the time of the debates on the Reform Bill, he had made a similar proposition, and the Gentlemen opposed to him had concurred in the suggestion; and the consequence was, that other business was not allowed to interfere with it.' He should, therefore, on this occasion, only make such a suggestion; and he hoped that Gentlemen would not again press their notices, and allow the Orders of the Day to take precedence, so as not to interfere with the progress of the Irish Bill.
§ Mr. Warburtonwished to ask the hon. member for Worcester if it were his intention to interfere with the arrangement for presenting petitions against the Bill? If the hon. Member meant to raise the question, he had better do it then. He thought a resolution might be moved, that no other petitions should be presented to-morrow than petitions relative to the Irish Bill. If there were no impropriety in that mode of settling the question, he should have no objection to move such a resolution.
§ Mr. Robinsonwas sure the noble Lord would do him the justice to say, that he had never shown himself disposed pertinaciously to resist the wishes of the Government; 570 but he must declare that the present state of the business of the House was now become a grievance of very great importance. The present mode of proceeding was neither more nor less than an interference with the rights and privileges of the House. If he were not allowed to present petitions, which he thought of importance, and if he were not allowed to submit motions of which he had regularly given notice, what was that but infringing on the rights and privileges of the Members? He admitted, that there had been an understanding across the Table between the noble Lord and the hon. and learned member for Dublin; and he knew that the House generally acceded to those understandings to which the parties most interested came. He did not wish to interfere with such understandings; but he wished to ask would the noble Lord assure him any day on which he might bring forward his Motion? He had a notice fixed for the 26th, on a subject which he considered of great importance—when was he to be assured of an opportunity of bringing that forward? The Notice-book up to the 20th of May, was filled up with Motions, four or five for each day, and motions of a description that each of them would, as things were now discussed, take four or five days to discuss it. If the country was not to be altogether deceived—and if the House was to have time for deliberation—something must be done to obviate the pressure of business. Such a state of things was inconsistent with the dignity, character, and usefulness of the House. He knew, unsupported as he was by any party, that his attempts might be unavailing, but he could not give up his rights and privileges as a Member of that House, and could not forego his right to introduce the Motion of which he had given notice. He wished to know whether all other business was to be put an end to till the Irish Bill was passed?
§ Lord Althorphad always supposed that all the decisions of the House would be guided by good sense and discretion. He had, however, been apprehensive that the eagerness of Gentlemen to bring forward Motions would lead the House to attempt to do more business than it possibly could do in one Session. That apprehension had been realised. On looking at the Notice-book, he found so many notices of motions on very important subjects, that 571 every man acquainted with business must know it would be impossible to get through them in one Session.
§ Mr. Humeasked, if all the business of the country was to give place to the Irish Bill? On two grounds, the Bill, he thought, should be abandoned—first, because it entirely interrupted the business of the House; secondly, because, by every account from Ireland, it would be quite unnecessary to put into operation. But as to the precise course to be taken on the question before the House, he would not come to any understanding.
§ Lord Althorpthought it strange that the accommodation granted to him by the minority in the last Parliament should be refused to him in this.
§ Mr. Harvey,though highly disapproving of the coercive Bill, yet thought that the sooner it was disposed of the better. After the decided opinions expressed by the House on its necessity, it was hardly to be expected that it would be dropped in its present stage.
Mr. Baringconsidered the course pursued by the noble Lord to be very unfair to the people of England, whose interests were made to appear very subordinate to the interests of Ireland, and who were left in the dark as to the intentions of Ministers in reference to the great public questions which affected their dearest interests. The admitted urgency of the Irish Coercion Bill did not justify the noble Lord's most blameable silence respecting the Established Church, and the Bank Charter, and the East-Indian and West-Indian interests, and the tithes, and the other important questions, which must, however late, come under their consideration. What was to prevent the noble Lord devoting one evening to express the intentions of Ministers in relation to those great questions? There need be, then, no discussion; all that was wanting, was to know what measures Ministers proposed respecting these important interests.
§ Lord Althorphoped to be able to state the intentions of Ministers before the recess. It was plain, that a short expression or outline of their intended measures would only lead to misconception and misrepresentation. If he adopted the course suggested by the hon. Member, the propositions of Ministers would be attacked piecemeal throughout the country.
Mr. Baringsaid, surely it was not meant that the public were not to discuss 572 any or every measure which Ministers would bring forward.
Mr. Ruthvensaid, that the Irish coercion measure was introduced to draw public attention from the violation of the pledges made by Government. They were thus enabled to shift aside the questions of economy, reduction of taxation, &c, and deny the country the relief which it had a right to claim at their hands.