§ MR. MONTAGUE GUESTwished to know the precise rule as to securing seats in that House? It was something of a scandal that seats should be appropriated in the wholesale way that was now common. The mere fact of a Member having his hat on a seat was no guarantee that he was in the House at Prayers; for it seemed to be usual, in many cases, that hon. Gentlemen, after depositing their hats, were much more likely to be found at the time of Prayers in the Smoking Room than anywhere in the immediate precincts of the House.
§ MR. SPEAKERThe rule which governs this matter is that a Member who has been at Prayers shall place his card over the seat he then occupied. The Member is then fully entitled to occupy that place during the evening.
MR. MACARTNEYasked, whether a Member who was standing at Prayer time opposite a hat would not be fulfilling the conditions of the rule if he carded the seat at which he stood?
§ MR. SPEAKERreplied in the affirmative.