§ MR. BANKESwished to take the opinion of Mr. Speaker on a question arising out of the construction of the House. On the occasion of their last sitting (in the new Chamber) hon. Members addressed them from the gallery, and he (Mr. Bankes) begged to ask, if it was in conformity with the rules of the House that a Member should speak from the gallery, which was considerably behind the bar of the House? He had always understood that no hon. 756 Member was entitled to speak from any part of the House decidedly behind the bar; and as a large number of hon. Members would sit in the gallery, it was a matter of importance to ascertain whether they would be allowed to address the House there though actually sitting within its walls. He begged to put the question, and to have Mr. Speaker's opinion on it as a point of order.
§ MR. SPEAKERsaid, that hon. Members sitting in the gallery, if in a place devoted to Members, had a right to be heard from it, thought it was behind the bar. The gallery was to be considered within the House.
§ MR. BANKESobserved, that as the strangers' gallery was a portion of the same gallery in which hon. Members sat; might not some inconvenience arise from the difficulty of distinguishing whether it was a stranger or a Member who addressed the House?
§ MR. SPEAKERsaid, that there were many places behind the bar from which Members had a right to address the House, but Members could not address the House unless they spoke from the places devoted to Members.