THE NEW RULES OF PROCEDURE—SEVENTH RULE (CHAIRMAN TO LEAVE THE CHAIR WITHOUT QUESTION). (Hansard, 11 November 1882)

MR. GLADSTONE
moved— That, when the Chairman of a Committee has been ordered to make a Report to the House, he shall leave the Chair, without Question put. The object of the Rule, the right hon. Gentleman explained, was that the Chairman, on progress made upon a Bill or Resolution, should be allowed to leave the Chair without putting the preliminary Question, "That I do now leave the Chair?"

§ MR. SALT
observed that the right hon. Gentleman having moved the Resolution with very little, if any, comment, it would seem that he did not think it could give rise to any legitimate discussion. The practice of the House was that when a Bill passed through Committee the Chairman put the Motion that "I report this Bill as amended, or without Amendment," as the case might be, "to the House." That Motion having been agreed to, the next Question put by the Chairman was "That I now leave the Chair?" As he understood the Resolution, its effect would be to render this latter Motion unnecessary. He wished to know whether that supposition was correct?

MR. GLADSTONE
said, that the Chairman of a Committee was invariably ordered to report something; Progress, whether progress had been made or not; a Resolution; or a Bill, as the case might be. The contention of the Government was that the work of a Committee ended with the Report, and that it was a purely idle form to put the Question. "That I now leave the Chair?"

§ MR. SALT
said, he was obliged to the right hon. Gentleman. The case being as he supposed, he wished to call attention to the Standing Order of July 19, 1854, which ran as follows:— Bills which may be fixed for consideration in Committee on the same day, whether in progress or otherwise, may be referred together to a Committee of the Whole House, which may consider, on the same day, all the Bills so referred to it, without the Chairman leaving the Chair on each separate Bill: Provided, that, with respect to any Bill not in progress, if any Member shall object to its consideration together with other Bills, the Order of Day for the Committee on such Bill is to be postponed. The comment on that Order in the work of Sir Erskine May was— This course is now frequently adopted with much convenience and saving of time. The object of the Order was, of course, that towards the end of the Session Bills about which no great controversy arose might be referred to the same Committee, in order to avoid the necessity of 1650 bringing back the Speaker many times over for the Report of each separate Bill. Now, he wished to know how that convenient custom could be made to fall in with this Resolution, according to which it was necessary for the Chairman to leave the Chair at the end of the Committee on every Bill? He moved to negative the Resolution.

§ MR. DODSON
said, he was not sure that it was necessary, when several Bills were referred to the same Committee, that the Order for reporting should be made till the Committee had determined whether it would go through all or any of the Bills; but even when a Committee ordered the Chairman to report a Bill, it would be perfectly allowable first to conclude the consideration of the other Bills.