§ Mr. Humerose to move for a Copy of any Report of Experiments for Lighting the House of Commons in the last and present year; with a Copy of Plan for altering the existing Lights, and an estimate of the expense of the same. He wished to 1238 ask the noble Lord the First Commissioner of Woods and Forests whether it was intended to alter the mode of lighting the House? He should himself be extremely sorry to see any change in that House after what had been effected by Mr. Gurney; at any rate, without first knowing what kind of light they were going to have.
The Earl of Lincolnsaid, the hon. Member must be aware that the lighting of the House was not a matter which belonged to his Department, or was under his control, but of the Officer of the House; and the arrangement to which the hon. Member had referred had been made by that person. With regard to any experiments which had been made with the view of lighting the New Houses of Parliament, they had been made under his sanction by Dr. Reid. He believed that the House would agree that it would be extremely advantageous that the lighting and the ventilation should be under the management of one individual, considerable inconvenience having arisen already from having two persons engaged in those matters. The experiments which had been made had been purely with a view to the lighting of the New Houses of Parliament, and not with a view to any alteration in the present House. Those experiments would be continued; and if the hon. Gentleman, at some future period of the Session, should feel anxious to have any detail or Report upon the subject, such information as he (Lord Lincoln) could supply should certainly be laid upon the Table of the House; but at present there were no such documents as the hon. Gentleman had moved for.
§ Motion withdrawn.
§ House adjourned at a quarter to eight o'clock, for the Easter holidays, till Monday the 31st day of March.