§ Lord John Russell moved, that the House at its rising do adjourn till Monday, the 30th of May. He would first state to the House that the adjournment he was now moving would not be of such long duration as that which had taken place in 1834. With regard to the last year, it was impossible to form any comparison, as the holidays had been very long, in consequence of the change of Ministry. In 1834, the recess at Easter had lasted nineteen days, at Whit-suntide six: in the present year, the former had lasted eleven days, and the latter would be nine days, making twenty days in all, and five less than in 1834. It was found necessary now to have rather a longer adjournment at Whitsuntide. Formerly the recess at Easter had been the longer, for in those happy days [a laugh] the House had adjourned shortly after Whitsuntide. The consequence of a long adjournment at Easter, when the business was comparatively light, was, that the House were obliged to sit during the hot months, and were extremely harassed and fatigued. This year the weight of business had been more' pressing, which had happened principally from the number of Railway Bills 1133 brought before the House, and from the multitude of Committees, the demands of which on the time of hon. Members were so constant and fatiguing, that the attendance on debates of the House, except upon occasions of particular interest, was scanty and incomplete, and such as he thought should not take place in legislative business. If they waited three days more than usual, making ten days in all. the House would be far better able to resume its labours than if they had had a longer interval at Easter. Such were the good effects produced by that adjournment in the present Session, that more business had been done during the week in which they re-assembled than in any corresponding period of former years. He would take this opportunity of saying a few words relative to a practice which had prevailed formerly. He thought the time had now arrived when, for a certain period, Orders of the day should take precedence on all days of the week. If the House would consent to this for the space of a fortnight, they would make such progress in the public business as would consider ably shorten the Session. There would in that case be some prospect of the House being up by the end of July. If any further argument were required in support of the adjournment, he might say, that the House had amply earned the addition by its toilsome labours after the termination of the Easter recess.
§ Colonel Percevalthought it would be better if in future the House should rise for a longer period at Easter, as the vacation was not now sufficiently long to enable them to return from the country.
§ Mr. Williams Wynndid not mean to object to the arrangement of the noble Lord, though he feared it would not be found suitable. A resolution for giving precedence to orders of the day on all days would have injurious effects, in consequence of the custom that had lately arisen of making motions as amendments to orders of the day.
§ Motion carried.