HC Deb 09 May 1853 vol 126 cc1330-1
SIR FRANCIS BARING

said, he wished to put a question to his noble Friend (Lord J. Russell) with reference to a Bill of which he had given notice to move for leave to bring in, to disable persons employed in Her Majesty's Dockyards, and other civil establishments of the Admiralty and Ordnance, from voting at elections for Members of Parliament for certain boroughs. A Committee was now sitting and inquiring into the question of patron- age in the dockyards; and although officially they knew nothing of the evidence, yet he had reason to know that the question to which the Bill was devoted was the subject of examination by the Committee. He thought it would be impossible to discuss the Bill without the evidence taken by the Committee, and if he were to refer to newspaper reports of it, Mr. Speaker would call him to order. As the Bill could not be discussed without referring to that evidence, he thought it only fair that no steps should be taken to disfranchise persons in dockyards until it was printed. Being of that opinion, he should feel it his duty to move that the debate on the Bill be adjourned, or that it be postponed till the evidence in question was before the House; especially as they could not discuss the case of persons employed in dockyards without entering on the case of other persons.

LORD JOHN RUSSELL

said, that in the first place the Bill he proposed to bring in was not at all founded on the inquiry now going on before the Committee to which his right hon. Friend had alluded but on the Report of the Committee which sat on the election for the borough of Chatham. When that Report was brought before the House, there was some question made as to the issuing of the writ, and it was asked if it was not issued what remedy was to be adopted. Any objection that was now made that had the effect of postponing the Bill, would postpone the issuing of the writs for boroughs affected by the Bill. The Bill, in question applied to Chatham, Rochester, Sandwich, Portsmouth, Plymouth, Harwich, and Pembroke; and if a writ was moved for any of these places, it must be suspended till the Bill was passed. But as some of the questions which were now before the Dockyard Committee must come before the House, he would postpone the introduction of the Bill until Friday se'nnight, but not for any longer time.