§ COLONEL WYNDHAM MURRAY (Bath)I beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury whether, at this period of the year, in order to expedite business and enable the session to close within a reasonable time, he will consider the advisability of proposing, instead of the suspension of the twelve o'clock rule, that the daily sittings of the House should commence earlier than at present.
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURThere is a great deal in the suggestion of my hon. friend, but it will, of course, require a debate in this House before we could make any such change as he desires. I am afraid, moreover, that the mere fact that there was a twelve o'clock rule, and therefore a fixed limit to the debate, would towards the end of the session seriously impede the progress of public business.