§ MR. CHANNING (Northamptonshire, E.)I beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury whether he will grant facilities for the remaining stages of the Marriage with a Deceased Wife's Sister Bill and the Church Discipline Bill; and whether he is now prepared to state what steps, if any, he will take to enable private Members, who have obtained Second Readings for Bills by decisive majorities of the House, to carry such Bills through their subsequent stages.
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURThe hon. Member asks me two Questions, and as to the first I can only repeat what I have often had to say before, and I believe have always said it with the general approval of both sides of the House, that it is quite impossible, and would bring Parliamentary business into hopeless confusion, to attempt to give special facilities to Bills of a highly controversial character promoted by private Members. That has hardly ever been done, and the only case I can remember did not conduce to legislation or the general interest of House of Commons business. The second Question is whether the Government contemplate any fundamental alteration in the rules of the House to give facilities for the later stages of private Members' Bills; and to that I can only say that in my judgment the consideration of that question cannot begin until such Bills are on the same footing with Government Bills.
§ MR. CHANNINGAre we to understand that the majority have no remedy against the organised obstruction of a small group of Members?
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURNo, the hon. Gentleman is not to understand that.
§ MR. CHANNINGWill no remedy be given to the majority of the House against the organised obstruction of a small group of Members?
§ *Mr. SPEAKEROrder, order.