§ MR. ANDERSONasked whether the Prime Minister would offer any facilities to private Members for bringing in Bills to-morrow of which Notice for to-morrow had been given to-day, and their precedence just been fixed by ballot?
§ MR. STEVENSONsaid, he would also appeal to the Prime Minister to make arrangements for suspending the debate on the Address at an early hour on Wednesday afternoon, so as to enable hon. Members who had given Notice of Bills for that day to introduce them. If they were not enabled to do so, they would lose the precedence the ballot had given them, and hon. Members who had put their Notices down for Thursday would displace them.
MR. ALDERMAN W. LAWRENCE (for Sir JAMES CLARKE LAWRENCE)To call attention to the subject of the Common Lodging House Acts, and of houses occupied by several families of the working classes.
§ MR. ANDERSONsaid, that having received no answer, he desired to repeat his Question with regard to the priority of hon. Members who had given Notice of the introduction of Bills to-morrow, in the event of no opportunity occurring for their so doing.
MR. GLADSTONE, in reply, said, he was not sure whether it would be in his power to alter the arrangements which had been made for to-morrow. The natural course for hon. Members to adopt under the circumstances was to introduce their Bills on Thursday instead of tomorrow.
§ MR. ANDERSONasked Mr. Speaker, whether it was not a fact that the order of precedence given by the ballot to-day would be altogether upset if hon. Members were unable to introduce to-morrow the Bills of which they had given Notice?
§ MR. SPEAKERI apprehend, in that case, those Members whose Notices of Motion could not come on would have to renew the Notices of Motion.
§ MR. ANDERSONasked if that did not mean that precedence just secured by the ballot would be lost?
§ MR. SPEAKERYes.
§ MR. ANDERSONsaid, that after receiving this answer, he must again ask the Prime Minister whether he would not in this matter consider the rights of private Members?
MR. GLADSTONEI see no necessity for any arrangement of the kind suggested. It appears to me that Gentlemen who gave Notice of the introduction of their Bills on Wednesday gave that Notice with a perfect knowledge of the Rules of the House, and that those hon. Gentlemen who gave Notice of their Bills for Thursday may, perhaps, have exercised a wise discretion.