§ MR. BOULNOIS (Marylebone, N.)I desire to ask for your ruling, Mr. Speaker, on a matter relating to the mode of balloting for notices of Motion on Tuesdays—namely, whether it is competent for an hon. Member to write the name of any other hon. Member or Members, instead of or in addition to his own; and whether some more fitting method of taking the ballot can be arranged.
§ * MR. SPEAKERMy attention was called to this matter last Tuesday, and I stated then that I thought the practice of writing the names of a number of other Members besides that of the Member who writes down his own name was a very objectionable practice. It has been carried so far that one hon. Member has written his own name followed by the names of 24 other Members. That is, I think, an abuse of the rules. I also think hon. Members will observe that there is some inconvenience now, when so many Members desire give nototices of Motion 1272 on Tuesdays, in the crowd which comes up to the Table at a time when business is or might be proceeding. Something more convenient to the House might be thought of, and, if it met with the general consent of the House, I would suggest that on Tuesdays before I call on the Notices of Motion the names should be written down at the Desk in "No" Lobby where the pairs are written down, and that a clerk of the House—I do not mean one from the Table—should be in charge and there should be an instruction to him from the House that no hon. Member should write down more than one name.
§ MR. DAVID THOMASWould it be competent for an hon. Member to give notice on behalf of another hon. Member in the event of the absence of the latter?
§ * MR. SPEAKERYes; I said that no one should write down more than one name.
MR. BROAD HURST (Leicester)If an hon. Member wrote to another asking him to enter his name, could he do so?
§ * MR. SPEAKERI think an hon. Member might write down the name of another hon. Member, but he must not write his own name in that case.