§ MR. ATKINSON (Boston), who had on the Paper the following Notice of Motion:—
That this House, having heard the statement of one of its Members, hereby expresses its disapproval of the right honourable the Speaker's discourtesy in not replying at all to a constitutional inquiry of the said Member very respectfully worded; and further ox-presses its opinion that a Member of Parliament who asks (1) the Speaker, (2) Mr. Milman, (3) Mr. Jenkinson for a ruling or precedent as to whether a Notice is in order or not, is unfortunately situated if he waits one hour for a reply from one or other of those officials, gets none, and is then ruled out of order,said: I wish to ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he can name a day when the Motion can be brought on?
§ MR. GOSCHENNo, Sir; it would not be possible to give a day for that purpose.
§ MR. ATKINSONMay I ask the Speaker if he will kindly give me a day to bring on my Resolution No. 1?
§ MR. GOSCHENNo, Sir; we cannot possibly give a day; we have no day that it is possible to give.
§ MR. ATKINSONMay I ask the right hon. Gentleman who is leading the House at present if I may have a day to move that that which has been put on the Journals of the House respecting me may be expunged? because I would rather die than be disgraced, and I shall continue to use every opportunity upon every Bill until the matter is discussed, and until the House, which has passed sentence on me without hearing me, hears the case.
§ MR. GOSCHENI regret that the hon. Gentleman should think that any disgrace attaches to him. The House is aware of what has passed, and I can assure the hon. Gentleman that the feeling towards him is a kindly one. We should regret that any further acrimony should be introduced into this matter. It is perfectly natural that the hon. Gentleman should feel somewhat acutely; but I trust he will accept the assurance I have given him, and that he will allow the painful incident to terminate.
§ MR. ATKINSONMay I respectfully say that I was drummed, as it were, out of the House, although there were eight guests of mine within the House. I was not considered sufficiently respectable to remain in the precincts of the House during the time of the suspension. Therefore, I must have the odium which attaches to my name debated and either confirmed—in which case I will give up my seat—or the entry struck out of the Minutes of the House.