§ COLONEL BARTTELOTasked Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Whether he was prepared to state to the House the course he intended to take on Friday next with regard to the Business of the House, as by the Notice Paper it appeared that there were many Motions down for consideration on going into Committee of Supply? He believed that 872 there were nine Motions down for that day.
MR. GLADSTONEWith the permission of the hon. and gallant Member, I will answer the Question. I am afraid the expectations kindly held out to us by the hon. Member for North Warwickshire (Mr. Newdegate) are not likely to be fulfilled to-morrow night. We must assume that the Motions on the Paper will be proceeded with. If, however, they should be disposed of at any reasonable hour—[Colonel BARTTELOT: What hour?] Some time before midnight. ["Oh!"] I would suggest that an interruption in the middle of a sentence, with the view of drawing forth a reply, and then an interruption upon that, without knowing what is to follow, do not conduce to the convenience of business. I was about to add that we should not think of proposing any controverted matter under those circumstances, and therefore Gentlemen need not apprehend that. I think it would be convenient in the first place to know whether the House is disposed to deal at once with the Resolution relating to the admission of strangers, which is of some importance in connection with a measure which stands for early discussion. If that is to be contested we shall not proceed with it to-morrow. I am anxious to know a little more than we do at present as to the general disposition of the House with regard to the mode of procedure on these Resolutions. A very large number of Notices have been given, some of them very important. A noble Lord opposite (Lord John Manners) and the right hon. Gentleman the late Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr. Hunt) have both given Notices, and I should like to learn the feeling of the House as to the best method of procedure. Let it be understood that we have not the slightest intention of raising controverted questions to-morrow, there being, I fear, no prospect of time for discussing them. If the hour should be so late as to make it inconvenient to raise the question at all, I shall postpone it till Monday nominally, in order then to state what course we shall take.