§ MR. MONKasked the noble Lord the Member for Woodstock, to state to the House, Why he deferred for a whole week the Motion of which he gave Notice on Thursday last, "to call the attention of the House to the grave imputations upon a Member of this House?"
§ LORD RANDOLPH CHURCHILL, in reply, said, that he fixed the Question for a week after the day on which he gave Notice of it, because it occurred to him that the matter to which the Notice referred might be considered of a delicate and complicated nature, and that the hon. Member might wish to have a few days to collect the materials which he desired to submit to the House. Having given public Notice that he would bring the Question on upon a certain day, it was not in his power to alter the day for an earlier period. If he came down to the House and insisted on bringing on at once a Question of this kind, the hon. Member would have serious cause of complaint. In these circumstances, he would take that oppor- 433 tunity of asking Mr. Speaker whether, as the Motion partook of the nature of a Privilege question, it would take precedence of the Orders of the Day?
§ MR. SPEAKERThe noble Lord the Member for Woodstock consulted me last week whether the Question which ho has put on the Paper could be entertained as a question of Privilege. Since then I have had an opportunity of causing a search to be made for precedents, and I find that in some instances questions of this kind have been taken as questions of Privilege, and have had precedence. But I find that more frequently such questions have been dealt with as ordinary Motions. But it will on examination be found that, whenever such questions have been treated as Privilege, urgency has been of the essence of the Motion. I cannot say that this Motion now under consideration is of that urgent character that it should take precedence as Privilege.
§ LORD RANDOLPH CHURCHILLwished to ask the Prime Minister, Whether, in view of the inconvenience of such a Motion remaining over, it would be in his power to allow it to take precedence of the Orders of the Day on Friday?
§ MR. MONKasked, Whether he might be allowed to appeal to his hon. Friends to allow this to be taken as an unopposed Motion?
MR. GLADSTONEsaid, he was glad to hear that the terms of this Motion would be so arranged as to contain no words in any way reflecting on the character of his hon. Friend the Member for Gloucester (Mr. Monk). He believed the proposal made by his hon. Friend distinctly met the case; for when both the noble Lord and the hon. Member wore in favour of taking it as an unopposed Motion, it might be taken as in no way disturbing the order of Business.