MR. PATRICK O'BRIENI beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury, whether when selecting a Committee of the House to inquire into and report upon the undesirability of Members introducing, supporting, or voting upon Bills of companies of which they are directors, or in which they have a financial interest, he will take care that no Member selected to serve on such Committee is a director or shareholder in any public company?
§ THE FIRST LORD OF THE TREASURYI could not follow the suggestion of the hon. Member, because, in the first place, there is no means of inquiring 1050 as to the shares which the hon. Members have in public companies; and, in the second place, if it is the hon. Gentleman's intention to exclude from the Committee any Member of this House who may have a pecuniary interest in the Debates of the House, it is evident that we cannot stop at the shareholders in public companies, but we must exclude landowners and occupiers of land, publicans [ironical Opposition, cheers]——
§ THE FIRST LORD OF THE TREASURYCertainly; and we must also exclude not only shareholders in railway companies, but those customers of the railways who desire by the action of this House to get their freights reduced.