§ Mr. Humesaid that, respecting the Motion which he had given for a call of the House, he was sorry that there was no House yesterday. In his early days the custom was, when there was not a sufficient number of Members present, to send the Sergeant-at-Arms with the mace into the Committee rooms, and to summon the Members to attend. He happened to be in a Committee room yesterday at four o'clock with six or seven Members, and if the old rule had been followed a House might easily have been made. He thought the rule a good one, and hoped it would be carried out in future. With regard to his Motion for a call of the House, he had received from the Clerk of the House a statement of the number of Members serving upon Public and Private Committees and the number of Committees which had yet to be appointed, and he had been informed by the Clerk that every group had already been provided for, and that the Members required had been found. That being the case he wished his notice for the call of the House to be dropped.
§ The Speakersaid, that the old rule 805 undoubtedly was to send the Sergeant for Members, but the rule existed only when Members were chosen for Committees by ballot. The result of enforcing that rule at present would be not merely the breaking up the Committee for the day, but altogether.