§ SIR H. CAMPBELL-BANNERMAN (Stirling Burghs)Will the right hon. Gentleman state what will be the business next week?
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURI hope to get the Speaker out of the Chair on the Navy Estimates on Monday. I shall go on with Supply on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Either Navy Estimates or Supplementary Estimates will be taken. The Estimates will be in the Vote Office this evening.
§ MR. EDMUND ROBERTSON (Dundee)said that last year the House were hustled in dealing with the Navy Estimates. This year questions of exceptional importance arose, and he hoped arrangements would be made to give the House at least a week for the consideration of those Estimates before they were taken.
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURthought the hon. Gentleman would see that the request was somewhat unreasonable. He agreed that very broad questions of principle were raised by the Navy Estimates this year; but the principles had long been before the House and the country with official authority, and on those broad principles he thought the House were already fully armed with the information they desired to obtain.
§ MR. EDMUND ROBERTSONWill the right hon. Gentleman be content with getting the Speaker out of the Chair on the Navy Estimates without taking the Vote.
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURPerhaps the hon. Gentleman will allow me to consider that suggestion. I certainly do not negative it.
MR. GIBSON BOWLESDo I understand that the right hon. Gentleman does not propose to move the Speaker out of the Chair on the Civil Service or Army Estimates next week.
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURI do not.
§ MR. EDMUND ROBERTSONasked whether it was intended that the Secretary to the Admiralty should make his introductory statement with the Speaker in the Chair or wait for Committee to be opened.
§ MR. LOUGH Islington, W.)desired to know whether hon. Members who were successful in the ballot would be allowed to bring in their Motions before the statement on behalf of the Government was made. That, he believed, was the old and better practice of the House.
MR. GIBSON BOWLESAnd in case the statement is made with Mr. Speaker in the Chair will the right hon. Gentleman see that the hon. Member making it does not monopolise the greater part of the time available?
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURsaid he believed it would be much more to the convenience of the House to follow the recent practice than to go back to the old practice. The House and the country ought to be 204 greatly interested in the new naval policy which his hon. friend would propound to the House. It would be most undesirable that all the edge of the interest should be taken off by a series of miscellaneous discussions upon details. He thought it would be better to begin the Navy Estimates with a broad statement of the policy of the Government.
§ MR. BUCHANAN (Perthshire, E.)hoped the right hon. Gentleman would bear in mind what took place five or six years ago when Mr. Goschen made the statement. After the principle had been approved the debate was adjourned in order that details might be considered.
§ MR. SWIFT MACNEILLAs a point of order, is it not for you, Mr. Speaker, to decide who shall be heard first. Formerly private Members had the first hearing, but of late years the practice has grown up for the Minister to make his statement first.
§ *MR. SPEAKERThe old practice was that when the Navy Estimates were called on for the first time the Minister formally moved, and the Speaker thereupon called upon the Member who was first in the ballot. Then the practice grew up which I have no control over, that the Minister should make a long statement before moving that I should leave the Chair. That statement he formerly used to make in Committee. Then it appeared to me to be more fair and convenient that in such a case some hon. Member representing the Opposition on Navy matters should have an opportunity of making some general observations on the statement before the first name in the ballot was called. That I understand to be the recent practice. If it is thought undesirable that a Member should be called upon to make general observations in reply before the ballot comes on, that is a matter the House can settle itself.
MR. GIBSON BOWLESWould it not be competent, Sir, for any Member to move that a certain Member be now heard—the Member, for instance, in charge of a Motion?
§ *MR. SPEAKERNo, I think it would not. That is a form used in the House 205 of Lords when two Members both claim to speak, because, the Speaker there has no authority to decide such a question, but the practice here is different.
§ MR. SPEAKEROrder, order!