HC Deb 07 July 1884 vol 290 cc226-7
MR. LABOUCHERE

asked the First Lord of the Treasury, Whether he will advise Her Majesty to create such a number of Peers as will render it more difficult than it is at present for that House to throw out measures introduced into this House by Liberal Ministries, and passed by this House by large majorities; and, whether he will submit to the appreciation of this House and the Country a measure which will insure that in future important Bills, which have received the assent of the Representatives of the people, will become Law without unnecessary delay? He wished also to ask, whether it was not in the knowledge of the right hon. Gentleman that in 1832 the House of Lords altered their intention of throwing out a second time the Reform Bill brought in by the Ministry of the day as soon as the possibility of a large creation of Liberal Peers was made necessary?

MR. GLADSTONE

The remarkable events of 1832 are matters of history, on which I have no exclusive information. Certainly, the hon. Member can put his own construction upon them, just as any other Member of this House can. With regard to the first part of the Question, I do not think that anything has occurred which would justify Her Majesty's Government in answering any inquiries involving the supposition of their advising Her Majesty to create a great number of Peers with the view of influencing the decisions of the House of Lords. In respect to the second part of the Question, the same answer will apply. We have no measures which we are prepared to submit to the House for the purpose of securing the passage "elsewhere" of Bills which have passed through this House; but I may say, Sir, upon that point, that I do think the first duty of the House of Commons, with regard to giving greater efficiency for the conduct of Public Business, is to consider what measures may be requisite to promote its own efficiency, and instead of taking the beam out of the eye of the House of Lords, to take the mote out of its own.

MR. LABOUCHERE

Should it be necessary, I will repeat the first part of the Question at the end of the week.