§ SIR CHARLES DOUGLASsaid, he rose, in the absence of the hon. Baronet the Member for Tavistock (Sir John Trelawny), to move for leave to bring in a Bill to abolish Church Rates.
MR. SOTHERON-ESTCOURTsaid, that he wished to state, on the part of his hon. Friend the Member for Preston (Mr. Cross) that although, if encouraged to do so, he was ready to introduce his Bill of last Session, yet, in the absence of any such encouragement, it was not his present intention to lay it on the table. He wished to know if the present Bill was identical with that of the hon. Baronet the Member 167 for Tavistock last year? [Sir CHARLES DOUGLAS: It is so.] He did not know that the hon. Baronet gained much by repeating the same routine year after year. No real progress was thus made. He did not propose to go over precisely the same course as last Session. It was desirable rather to widen than to narrow the discussion. It was, therefore, his intention, on the second reading of the Bill, to move, not, as before, a simple negative, but a Resolution, the purport of which would be to draw attention to what appeared to him to be the one-sided character of the Bill itself, and to obtain from the House the recognition of some distinct principle on which legislation on the subject might be founded.
§ MR. DARBY GRIFFITHsaid, be rose to express the gratification he felt at hearing the announcement made by the right hon. Gentleman who had just sat down— namely, that some distinct Amendment would be proposed for the settlement of this much-vexed question. Last year many hon. Members on both sides of the House had watched with anxiety for a settlement of that question upon moderate principles, and there was no doubt that if an opportunity were given, the fanaticism of the opposite side and the High Church feeling on his own side of the House would be left in a decided minority. He was in favour of a moderate system of church rates. He thought it unworthy of the party to which he belonged to meet the proposal of the Bill with a simple negative, without making a proposition in return, upon which an agreement might be come to. At present Dissenters could relieve themselves practically from the payment of church rates, and he hoped to see legislation ratifying that power.
§ MR. SPEAKER:Before putting the Question, I beg to remind the House, in regard to one of its rules, that though, in the case of an unopposed Motion, it is by courtesy permitted that one hon. Gentleman may give a notice of Motion and then obtain the assistance of a friend to make the Motion, the rule does not prevail in regard to important or controverted questions. Therefore, if any hon. Member had made an objection to this Motion, I should have held the objection to be good. The hon. Member who gave the notice being absent, it was not in accordance with the strict rules of the House that the Motion should be made by any other hon. Member.
§ SIR CHARLES DOUGLASsaid, he 168 wished to explain that his hon. Friend the Member for Tavistock was in the House a short time before, but had gone away.
§ Leave given.
§ Bill ordered to be brought in by Sir JOHN TRELAWNY, Mr. DILLWYNS, and Sir CHARLES DOUGLAS.
§ Bill presented, and read 1o.