§ SIR STAFFORD NORTHCOTEI should like to ask the Prime Minister, Whether he can give the House any information as to the Whitsuntide holidays?
MR. GLADSTONEThe House has been indulgent upon this subject, and I am afraid I must ask it for a further extension of that indulgence. I will, however, tell the House what the present state of Business enables me to announce. There are three subjects which the Government are particularly bound to keep in view at the present moment. The first and foremost of them all is the Bill for the Prevention of Crime in Ireland, with regard to which it is our opinion that it is desirable that it should be disposed of as rapidly as may be, expedition being desirable in the interests of all persons concerned, and for the dignity of the House itself. It must be proceeded with rapidly, consistently with the due and fair discussion which I am quite confident there will not be in any quarter of the House any disposition to exceed. It may be that the debate on the second reading of the Bill will be closed to-night; but if it should not be so closed I think it will certainly be our duty to ask for a Morning Sitting to-morrow for the purpose of bringing it to a close, and in that case there will be ample time at the Evening Sitting to dispose of a question of considerable interest and importance which stands on the Paper for to-morrow. Then, with regard to the Committee on the Bill, that is a stage with regard to which hon. Gentlemen ought to have some little time allowed for preparing any Amendments they may think fit to propose, and for placing them on the Paper. We should propose, therefore, to go into Committee on the Bill on Tuesday, at 2 o'clock. ["Oh!"] It seems to me that that is a reasonable period for preparing any Amendments on the Bill, 959 which, after all, is not in any way a complex Bill. Some of its points are very important, no doubt; but they are points about which, I think, there should not be any great difficulty in arriving at conclusions. I think, further, in regard to that Bill, that I should be justified in asking the House to allow us to proceed from day to day until we have finished Committee and Report. That is the Bill which must occupy the first place in our considerations. There is also what we consider an exceedingly important Bill on the subject of Arrears; and I said on a former day that I hoped to find, in the necessary interstices of the proceedings in connection with the Prevention of Crime Bill, an opportunity for proceeding with the Arrears Bill. I shall take the judgment of the House on the second reading of that Bill on Monday next. There is another subject which I hope will not take any lengthened time to dispose of. We have done what we could in respect to Supply, and we are in a better position in the matter of Supply than we were this time last year—though that is not, perhaps, saying a great deal. At the same time, it will be necessary, in consequence of the pressure of Irish Business, that we should ask the House to give us another Vote of Credit for one month, and that Vote must be in operation before the 1st of June. Under these circumstances, many hon. Gentlemen have suggested that the House might make a patriotic and entire sacrifice of the Whitsuntide holidays, and take a week later in the Session. But I am bound to say that I believe that if once we get detached from the tradition of our Whitsuntide holidays, however great may be the gratification of making a patriotic sacrifice, there would be very little chance of our getting a week later on. What I should propose to the House is, that if it is the pleasure of the House we should work steadily through next week, probably down to Friday, or, if necessary, even to Saturday, for the purposes I have described, and for no other purpose; and I should hope that by Tuesday or Wednesday next we may be able to make some definitive arrangement.
§ SIR R. ASSHETON CROSSDoes the Attorney General propose to go on with the Parliamentary Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Practices) Bill to-night or not?
§ MR. ANDERSONwished to ask the Prime Minister, whether, when he spoke of proceeding from day to day with the Prevention of Crime Bill, he intended to ask the House to meet on Wednesday, and take that day away from private Members—whether he intended, for the first time in recent years, to get rid of the absurd practice of "knocking off" for the Derby?
§ MR. R. H. PAGETasked whether there was any intention of going on with the Customs and Inland Revenue Bill, which was down on the Paper?
MR. GLADSTONEI stated on a former day that I would not ask the House for any further proceeding on that Bill before Whitsuntide. With regard to Wednesday next, I should be much better pleased if, as in the last few years, it could be left in the hands of Members of the House to deal with that matter; but, undoubtedly, if it should seem necessary for the purpose of proceeding with this Bill, which we propose should be read a second time to-night, I should not scruple to ask the House to meet on Wednesday in order to go on with it.