HC Deb 27 February 1871 vol 204 cc944-5
MR. DISRAELI

Sir, the House is aware that a Notice was given by the Chief Secretary of the Lord Lieutenant of his intention to make a Motion of very great importance with respect to a portion of Ireland. It seems to me that it would be most agreeable to the House that no time should be lost in giving information on this subject. Therefore, I would suggest to the right hon. Gentleman that he should avail himself of the privilege of postponing the Orders of the Day, in order that that Motion might be brought under the consideration of the House.

MR. GLADSTONE

Sir, the right hon. Gentleman was kind enough to give me notice of his intention to make a suggestion of this kind, but my answer was that I should have been very glad to accede to such a suggestion had I been in the possession of it at the time when the Notice was given. But the Government gave an engagement to the Scotch Members, and to the House in general, that they would proceed with the Scotch Education Bill as the first important business this evening. We had every reason to suppose that that measure, which has been so long delayed, and with regard to which Scotland has very naturally become eager, would not occupy any very considerable portion of the evening. Therefore, I should not feel justified in proposing, without Notice of Motion, that the Orders of the Day should be postponed. At the same time, I entirely agree with the right hon. Gentleman that it would be very inconvenient that the Motion of my noble Friend (the Marquess of Hartington) should be made except at a convenient hour. Therefore, for the purpose of obviating any possible difficulty upon that subject, and having had some information, since I came down to the House as to the time which the debate on the second reading of the Scotch Education Bill is likely to occupy, and seeing that there is no other measure with which it is material for us to go forward, we shall propose the postponement of the other Orders of the Day to take the Notice of my noble Friend after the debate on the second reading of the Scotch Education Bill has concluded. If, however, that debate should not be concluded at 9 o'clock, we shall move that it be adjourned, in order that my noble Friend may make his Motion.