§
MR. MONK moved, as an addition to the Standing Orders—
That when a Bill brought from the House of Lords shall have remained upon the Table of
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this House for twelve sitting days without any honourable Member giving notice of the Second Reading thereof, such Bill shall not be further proceeded with in the same Session.
The hon. Member said, he did not anticipate any objection being raised to the proposed Order, as it was framed in the exact words of a Standing Order of the House of Lords, which was adopted last Session with the approval of the Government. It was sometimes impossible towards the end of the Session, when a large number of Bills came down from the other House, to ascertain who were the hon. Members in charge of them, and it sometimes occurred that a Bill, after lying for weeks upon the Table, was, on the Motion of some hon. Member, read a second time at 3 o'clock in the morning, and became law without having been properly discussed. As an additional remedy, he thought it desirable that the names of the hon. Members who had charge of Bills originating in the House of Lords should be printed on the backs of the Bills when they came down to that House.
§
Motion made, and Question proposed,
That when a Bill brought from the House of Lords shall have remained upon the Table of this House for twelve sitting days without any honourable Member giving notice of the Second Reading thereof, such Bill shall not be further proceeded with in the same Session."—(Mr. Monk.)
§ COLONEL FRENCHsaid, he thought the proper course would be for the hon. Member to bring forward his proposal in Committee.
MR. GLADSTONEobserved, that the only question was whether they were to enter that evening upon this Motion, which really formed part of the subject which it had been agreed should be postponed; and, under the circumstances, he took it almost for granted that the hon. Member would not press his Motion, and that it would be withdrawn. It would be impossible for the Government to accede to the Motion; but if the Notice were left upon the Books and a Committee appointed to consider the general subject, it would be very proper that such a Motion should be brought under the notice of the Committee.
§ MR. SPENCER WALPOLEasked whether any of these Motions would be proceeded with that night, and whether the Government would take the opportunity of saying in a day or two what course they would recommend the House to pursue?
§ THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUERThe Motions would not be proceeded with that night, and they would simply stand adjourned until Friday week.
§ MR. SPENCER WALPOLEsaid, he thought that Friday fortnight would be better.
§ MR. NEWDEGATEsaid, he could not presume to accept the responsibility that had been thrown upon him by the Chancellor of the Exchequer of moving the suspension of the Standing Orders on Friday week. If the Government wanted their Resolutions to be properly discussed, they ought to provide for the discussion being taken on a Government night, or else themselves move the suspension of the Standing Orders on Friday week.
MR. GLADSTONEsaid, that the only effect of fixing these Resolutions for Friday week would be that they would not be discussed on an earlier day. The question of postponing the Notices and the Orders on Friday week until after these Resolutions had been disposed of was another matter, and it was the great confidence of the Government in the influence of the hon. Member for North Warwickshire, and in his promise that he would exert himself to the utmost of his power to obtain a Friday evening for the discussion of the Resolutions, that had induced them to give up their chance of bringing on the subject that night.
§ MR. G. BENTINCKsaid, he hoped that it would be understood that those who objected to the course of the Government would insist upon their giving a night for the discussion of these Resolutions, so that they should not be discussed in the scrambling way that they must be dealt with if the discussion should come on upon a Friday evening.
§ Motion, by leave, withdrawn.