§ DR. MACGREGOR (Inverness-shire)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade, considering that the Standing Orders were, on a recent occasion, suspended to enable a Railway Bill to pass the First Reading in this House, and, notwithstanding this, was afterwards thrown out by the Standing Orders Committee in the House of Lords, will the Government consider the propriety of appointing a Joint Committee of both Houses to secure simultaneous action as to the compliance with Standing Orders in both Houses with regard to such cases?
§ MR. MUNDELLAThis is a matter over which I have no control. There may have been good and sufficient reasons for not suspending the Standing Orders in the House of Lords in the instance referred to. So large a change in Private Bill procedure cannot be accomplished without fresh legislation.
§ DR. MACGREGORSurely the right hon. Gentleman thinks this unnecessary waste of the public time ought to be remedied. I am sure it would be in the interest of all parties.