§ MR. DISRAELII see, Sir, that tomorrow there is to be a morning sitting, and I take this opportunity to express a hope that the noble Lord at the head of the Government has considered the question of such sittings since I made an observation on the subject a few days ago. I have not any intention now to dwell on the inconvenience which it will cause to Members of this House if we adopt the system of morning sittings; but I wish the noble Lord would consider the effect which the habitual holding of these sittings may have upon the labours of the right hon. Gentleman who sits in the chair, and upon the staff charged with the transaction of the business of this House. The fact is that if we, as a matter of course, adopt these morning sittings, the Speaker will very often have to sit in that Chair, with a slight interval, for more than twelve hours continuously. Then, the staff of this 2152 House are already overworked—their labours cannot be concluded within even that period of time, as, after the House rises, they have duties to perform of the most urgent nature, which cannot be omitted. And we must also remember that Mr. Speaker has not only to sit twelve hours a day in presiding over our proceedings, but he has likewise other important duties to this House to discharge, and those who are connected with the Administration of the House are in the same situation. Now, it is easy for us to agree to a morning sitting which very often surmounts a difficulty that would otherwise present itself in the conduct of our business; but what I wish to impress on the noble Lord is, that our resorting to this practice with facility tends to put a pressure on individuals which it will be really impossible for them to sustain. In my opinion, morning sittings, in connection with the transaction, ought to be quite the exception, and not be allowed to become a permanent feature of our procedure; and I make this observation not with reference to the convenience of Members of this House, except the right hon. Gentleman who occupies the Chair, but to the interest of those whom we are bound to consider— namely, those who have to fulfil most important duties, and duties which necessarily require accuracy and precision in their performance. To illustrate the working of the system, I may take the very case which has just now arisen. The first business set down for the morning sitting tomorrow is the Irish Tenant Compensation Bill; but upon that I find an hon. Gentleman has given notice of an Amendment which opens up the discussion of the principle of that measure; therefore, if we enter into that subject, Mr. Speaker will have to be in the Chair; and we may easily consume four hours in such a discussion. Now I think the noble Lord ought as much as possible to discourage the recurrence of these morning sittings; but, if he still perseveres in them, he should at least lay down some general principle to regulate their adoption. For example, if they are to take place, it is desirable that when they do so they should be limited to the consideration of the details of measures in Committee or in progress, which may, under those circum stances, be thus dealt with with advantage; but, certainly, morning sittings ought to be avoided as much as possible when the principles of Bills are to be discussed with 2153 the Speaker in the Chair, unless the measures concerned are of the greatest weight and of extreme urgency. If the noble Lord approves this suggestion, it would be much better for us not to enter to-morrow into the discussion of the Tenants' Compensation Bill at all, especially as the Chief Secretary for Ireland has informed us that the main clause is not then to be considered; but at once to fix for the morning sitting the second measure that already appears on the paper—namely, the Metropolis Improvement Bill, which stands for progress in Committee. If the noble Lord will direct his attention to this subject, and adopt the arrangement which I have suggested, it will greatly facilitate the course of public business, and tend to alleviate the pressure upon those whose comfort we ought not to disregard.
§ VISCOUNT PALMERSTONI am quite as sensible as the right hon. Gentleman opposite of the great inconvenience not only to hon. Members, but to you, Mr. Speaker, to the clerks of this House, and, I will also add, to all official men, which arises from having to attend morning sittings, coupled with our late sittings at night. But, on the other hand, the House must feel that when there are important measures before it which it is desirable should become law, it is necessary they should leave this House after receiving its assent in sufficient time to be properly considered before the close of the Session by the other House of Parliament; and it is impossible that they can be duly discussed here while other propositions and Motions are brought forward, unless we combine morning sittings with those which we hold in the evening. Why, I am constantly asked by hon. Gentlemen having Motions to make, to give them a day for that purpose, and even to postpone public business on Government nights in their favour. If those applications should be systematically declined, the forms of the House may be taken advantage of, and Motion after Motion may be made upon the Question that the Speaker leave the chair before we go into Committee of Supply, and thus the Government may be left in a position in which it has no command over the progress of the business of the country. Therefore, if the right hon. Gentleman (Mr. Disraeli) would make his appeal to other persons as well as me, and entreat hon. Members who have Motions to make to content themselves with those days of the week which the rules of 2154 the House leave open to them, perhaps we might then be enabled to dispense to some extent with morning sittings. So long, however, as we have so many topics of discussion, and hon. Gentlemen—very properly, no doubt—avail themselves of the forms of the House to express their own opinions and invite the expression of those of the House on important questions; and so long, on the other hand, as the Government have measures of great detail and importance which they feel it their duty to submit to Parliament, in the hope that they may be passed in the course of the Session, I am afraid the inconvenience of morning sittings—great as I admit it may be—cannot at present be easily remedied. With regard to the business for to-morrow, I prefer adhering to the arrangement which has already been made.
§ MR. W. WILLIAMScomplained of the inconvenience of morning sittings to Members who were occupied all day on Select Committees.
§ SIR HENRY WILLOUGHBYsaid, he considered the prolongation of the sittings of the House greatly owing to the excessive length of hon. Gentlemen's speeches.