§ MR. DE COBAIN (Belfast, E.)asked the First Lord of the Treasury, having regard to the great pressure on the time of Parliament, as evidenced by the fact that its Sittings last year only concluded upon Christmas Eve, he is prepared to take immediate steps to deal with the subject of questions put on the Notice 405 Paper of the House, with a view to the limiting of the time thus consumed, by recommending that questions of local and minor interest be dealt with by written reply from the heads of Departments to which they may relate; that only those which are of a grave or Imperial character shall be accorded a public response during the Sittings of the House; and that in no case shall consequential questions without notice be considered entitled to a public answer?
§ *MR. W. H. SMITHI am not surprised, looking at the hour we have reach (4.50), that the question is raised by my hon. Friend. It is one that has often been under consideration, but I am not, as at present advised, prepared to take the steps he suggests, as there would be great difficulty in deciding what were questions of local or minor, and what of a grave or Imperial character. Some authority would have to be charged with the responsibility of settling this point, and his decisions would, I am afraid, often fail to meet with the approval of hon. Members. I personally am averse to making any changes in the Rules of the House, unless painful experiences have shown them to be absolutely necessary for expediting the transaction of public business. But I am not by any means sure it will not be necessary to make further Amendments of our Rules and Orders.