§ SIR JAMES GRAHAMhaying brought up the Report of the Select Committee, which had been appointed at the morning sitting, said that in consequence of the decision of the Committee it became necessary for him to invite the House to suspend the Standing Orders and read the Bill a first and second time that evening, and refer it to a Committee to be nominated by the Committee of Selection. That Committee might sit on Wednesday, and thus afford an opportunity for the parties who were opposed to one or two clauses to have their objections fully heard. He was sorry to say that having an important engagement elsewhere, he should not be able to take part in the ulterior proceedings with respect to the Bill. He would wish to have the opinion of the right hon. Gentleman in the chair as to the course he had suggested being consistent with the practice of the House, and at the same time he begged to state that if unhappily the arrangement, which was in the nature of a compromise arrangement, were not carried out, he should consider the whole question re-opened, and that the settlement of the present Session was not binding on any one.
§ MR. J. C. EWARTsaid, he hoped the House would agree to the suggestion of the right hon. Baronet, for he could assure them the Liverpool Corporation were decidedly in favour of the Bill.
§ MR. HENLEYremarked, he could understand the suspension of Standing Orders to allow an arrangement made in the House of Lords to be carried out; but if any parties wanted to be heard, the question assumed a different shape, and he would therefore suggest that the right hon. Baronet might take the course he proposed, with the understanding that the Bill should go no further if there were any petition.
§ MR. SPEAKERsaid, the question raised by the right hon. Baronet seemed to be 1729 one for the House to decide rather than for him to give any decision; but, for himself, he thought there could be no objection to the course proposed by the right hon. Baronet—namely, that the Bill should be brought in, rend a first and second time, and then referred to a Committee appoint-on by the Committee of Selection. The party claiming to be heard would in that case have a hearing, and it would then be for the Committee to decide what was the nature of the objection, and whether there was any serious difficulty to the Bill making further progress. After the decision to which the House had come in the morning, the magnitude of the case seemed to be such as called for the suspension of the ordinary rules of the House.
MR. GILPINsaid, he thought no other state of the case than that of all parties being agreed could justify the House in departing from its usual course, and was afraid that a contrary proceeding might form a very inconvenient precedent.
§ SIR WILLIAM HEATHCOTEsaid, he considered the House ought to be very much on its guard, if the Bill was not to be an unopposed Bill. It occurred to him, however, after what had passed at the morning sitting, that no inconvenience would result from reading the Bill a first and second time that evening; but even if a single petition were presented against the Bill, the House ought to pause there for fear of doing an injustice to any of the parties concerned, by too rapid a course of proceeding.
§ Report ordered to lie on the Table.