[BILL 89.] SECOND READING. [ADJOURNED DEBATE.] (Hansard, 28 April 1884)

§ MR. TREVELYAN
SAID, the Government could only consent to an ex post facto regulation, that Officers who had taken their appointments on the understanding that they would not thereby be disqualified from serving in Parliament should not be affected by this disqualification. If the hon. Member (Mr. Brodrick) was willing to limit the disqualification to Officers hereafter appointed, excluding those now holding office, and who might be re-appointed, the Government would be willing to consent to the second reading of the Bill. The Government also thought it would be better if the term of disqualification were two years—and the only similar disqualification of which he was aware was one in regard to Revising Barristers, and in their case the term was 18 months. If the hon. Member would accept those two most important alterations, he would offer no objection to the second reading.

§ MR. BRODRICK
said, he thought the right hon. Gentleman was more impressed by the necessity of restricting the operation of the Bill than by the object of the Bill, which he did not seem to have fully grasped. He would not now go into particulars as to the Bill; but it was obvious that a Bill of this kind would not have been put on the Paper without strong reasons arising out of the operation of the Land Act. He did not think there would be any difficulty in arriving at an understanding in Committee as to a limitation of time; but he could not understand the proposition of the right hon. Gentleman to exclude gentlemen who might be reappointed; for reappointments were really fresh appointments, and it would be utterly anomalous to include one set of Sub-Commissioners and exclude another. He should be perfectly willing to consider the suggestions of the right hon. Gentleman; but he could hardly believe the right hon. Gentleman meant to make that distinction, and he could not assent to it.

§ MR. TREVELYAN
SAID, he certainly did mean to exclude re-appointments, and when he should have the right to speak generally on the subject, he would go more fully into it.

§ MR. SEXTON
said, the hon. Gentleman (Mr. Brodrick) had made a mysterious speech, and had appealed to the time of night as a reason for not putting 838 this matter clearly before the House. The Irish Members could not allow a Bill of this kind to pass without due notice, and he begged to move the adjournment of the debate.