PUBLIC BUSINESS. (Hansard, 2 August 1860)

§ VISCOUNT PALMERSTON
moved that the Standing Order of the 25th day of June, 1852, relative to Orders of the Day, be read and repealed; and, in lieu thereof, moved, That, unless the House shall otherwise direct, all Orders of the Day set down in the Order Book for Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, shall ho disposed of before the House will proceed upon any Motions of which Notices shall have been given;—and that the said Resolution be a Standing Order of this House. The object of his Motion was to continue the arrangement with respect to Thursdays and Fridays, which had been attended with so much advantage to public business, in the present Session, namely, that Orders of the Day should have precedence of Notices of Motion on Thursdays, unless the House should otherwise determine, and that Fridays should be devoted to Notices. He did not know whether it was necessary to ask the House to consider whether the practice of introducing such a variety of subjects on the Motion for the Adjournment of the House from Friday to Monday was strictly in accordance with the spirit of the Orders of the House, which require that Members should speak on the Motion put from the 484 Chair, and not upon other subjects. It was a matter which must be left entirely to the discretion of Members; but he thought the House would agree with him that the privileges of Members had been carried this Session a little too far. He, however, should be the last person to wish to limit the powers of hon. Members; but the inconvenience of discussing such a variety of topics upon the simple Motion for the Adjournment of the House was very great. Ho had occasion a few minutes ago to mention the services performed by the Chairmen of Committees. He thought the House must also feel they were under considerable obligations to the hon. and gallant Member for Lancashire (Colonel W. Patten), the Chairman of the Committees of Standing Orders and Selection. He (Viscount Palmerston) was likewise bound to mention honourably the services rendered by the hon. Member for Walsall (Mr. C. Forster) who discharged his laborious duties with great advantage to the public.

§ MR. SOTHERON ESTCOURT
concurred in the remarks of the noble Lord as to the valuable services of the Gentlemen whose names he had mentioned, and he thought the House would do well to follow out the system which had conferred such benefit on the public in the next Session. In returning thanks to those hon. Members who had exerted themselves to advance the public interests they ought not to omit a reference to the hon. Member for Devizes (Mr. D. Griffith) who was the first person to suggest the propositions now moved by the noble Viscount, but who at his (Mr. S. Estcourt's) suggestion, did not persevere in bringing them forward.

§ MR. W. WILLIAMS
said, he presumed the noble Lord intended to take Thursdays for the use of the Government, but he believed no Resolution to that effect had been passed.

§ VISCOUNT PALMERSTON
intimated assent.

§ MR. HALIBURTON
said, that in the enumeration of the persons deserving the thanks of the House, a valuable class of persons had been overlooked—the private Members of the House—who for their patience and endurance during the Session bad merited notice.