§ Mr. SHEEHANI beg to move, "That Mr. Speaker do issue his Warrant to the Clerk of the Crown in Ireland to make out a New Writ for the electing of a Member to serve in this present Parliament for the county of Galway, North Galway, in the room of Richard Hazleton, Esq., who since his election for the said county hath accepted the office of Steward or bailiff of His Majesty's Three Chiltern Hundreds of Stoke, Desborough, and Bonenham, in the county of Buckingham."
§ Captain DONELANI beg to move, "That the Debate be now adjourned until Monday next (13th July)."
I cannot ask the House to negative this Motion, because I understand that if that were done this writ could not be moved again this Session. That would be a result for which we should all be very sorry. I therefore move the adjournment of the Debate until Monday next, the date on which I did intend to move the issue of this writ. The step which has just been taken by the hon. Member for Mid-Cork (Mr. Sheehan) is a most unusual one, and it would only be justified, in my humble judgment, if an attempt were being made to disfranchise the constituency or to disregard the wishes of the electors. So far from that being the case, the constituency has been consulted—[HON. MEMBERS: "How?"]—as to its own wishes in this matter, and we have been in constant communication with the constituency. Moreover, the electors are in complete agreement with the course that has been adoptd by the Irish Nationalist party in this matter. In fact, the Motion which has been made by the hon. Member is in direct opposition to the wishes of the constituency—I have good reason for knowing that that is so, because I am personally very closely connected with this constituency. It is not correct to say that there has been a delay of two months in moving this writ, because no opportunity offered until the House reassembled after the Whitsuntide Recess on the 9th June last, which means that instead of a delay of two months there has been a delay of something over three weeks, which is not at all an unusual delay. There have been far longer delays within my own personal remembrance since I came to the House. For instance, on the occasion of which Mr. Tully moved the writ for the City of Cork to fill the vacancy occasioned by one of the resignations of the present senior Mem- 906 bers for that city, there was a delay of very nearly twelve months.
§ Mr. W. O'BRIENThat was not my fault. It was the fault of the party which the hon. Member represents, which was in dread to face the issue.
§ Captain DONELANI am simply stating the facts, which, I think, the hon. Member cannot contradict. I think it will be generally conceded that the honourable observance of the unwritten but in-invariable rule which regulates these matters is absolutely essential to the smooth working of the business of this House. I feel certain that hon. Members in all quarters of the House will uphold this unwritten but invariable rule, and will support the Amendment which I move.
§ Mr. SPEAKERThe hon. and gallant Gentleman having said he would move the writ on Monday next, does the hon. Member (Mr. Sheehan) wish to proceed with the Motion?
§ Mr. SHEEHANCertainly.
§ Mr. SPEAKERThe hon. and gallant Gentleman is not entitled in his Motion to adjourn to say that the Debate shall be adjourned till Monday. It rests with the Mover of the original Motion to fix the day. All I can do is to put the Question, "That the Debate be now adjourned."
§ Question proposed, "That the Debate be now adjourned."
§ Mr. T. M. HEALYI desire to point out that there is no foundation for the somewhat controversial statement as to rules made by the hon. and gallant Gentleman. The course that has been taken in this case is the course adopted, carried out and laid down by the hon. and learned Gentleman (Mr. John Redmond), and it follows the precedent which he created and upon the speech which he made this Motion is founded. It was for the first time in February, 1893, on a vacancy being created in the County of Meath that the hon. and learned Gentleman without notice to any single Member of the House, either the Commons' Whips, the Liberal Whips—the Liberals being then in office—or the Whips of the Irish party, moved the writ for South Meath. Mr. Gladstone objected and insisted that two days' notice should be given, and when the two days had expired, Colonel Nolan moved the writ, and this sentence from the speech of the hon. and learned Gentleman (Mr. 907 John Redmond) is the best answer I can give to the speech which has just been made. He said:—
My hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Galway, in moving the writ on Tuesday last, moved under the impression that he was acting in accordance with the usages of the House. He said very fairly on Tuesday that he would submit the question to the Whips of the two great parties in the House, and would adopt their decision. He accordingly consulted the Gentlemen, and they told him that, in their opinion, he had taken a mistaken view, and he at once acted in accordance with the view which they explained. The invariable practice of the House, as explained by the Whip of the Conservative party the other night, has been that not merely the Whip of the party who owned The allegiance of the late Member, should move the writ, but it has also been the practice of the House that if he does not move the writ the Whip of another party might say to him 'If you do not move the writ by such a day, I will move it.' On Tuesday last my hon. and gallant Friend said openly and publicly to the House that he would move for the writ to-day if it was not moved by the hon. Baronet the Whip of the other party. In addition to that my hon. and gallant Friend had some private communication with the hon. Baronet, but as to that I know nothing, but he certainly stated publicly in this House that if the hon. Baronet did not move the writ, he would move it. The hon. Baronet has not moved the writ to-day, and so my hon. and gallant Friend in moving for the writ is acting in strict accordance with the usages of the House, as explained by the Whips of the two great parties.Exactly the course which the hon. and gallant Gentleman complains of was the course supported by the hon. and learned Gentleman (Mr. John Redmond), and adopted and followed by the House in 1893, and upon that Motion the writ accordingly issued. I think the House is entitled to some further explanation from the hon. and gallant Gentleman as to the cause of the proposed delay. This writ, as I understand, might have been moved at any time since 24th May last. The late Member applied for the Chiltern Hundreds. He got the Chiltern Hundreds, and steps were taken, as I understand, to expedite the grant by the Chancellor of the Exchequer to him. Having severed his connection with this House for the time being, he applied to have himself declared a bankrupt. He was declared a bankrupt upon his own petition, and he then went to his late constituents and said that in the course of a month he would be back again amongst them, and asking for a renewal of their confidence.
§ Mr. MULDOONMay I ask if it is in order to go into this matter on the question of the Adjournment of the Debate?
§ Mr. SPEAKERThe Adjournment of the Debate having been moved the discussion ought to be restricted to the question as to whether the writ should issue today or at some future date. If the hon. 908 and learned Gentleman can show cause as between to-day and Monday next he would be entitled to discuss that matter, as it would be a relevant one. The point is simply now as to the issue of the writ today or the issue of the writ on Monday.
§ Mr. T. M. HEALYI propose to give reasons why no further delay should be allowed in this case, and one of the reasons I give is that Mr. Hazleton, having successfully had himself declared bankrupt went to Galway and said that he would appear again before them, having been discharged from the bankruptcy, in the course of a month. That was the month of June. Accordingly we waited for over six weeks before taking any steps, and I think it is somewhat of an anomaly that this House should wait upon the bankruptcy procedure of this gentleman, and make that a ground for delaying the issue of the writ. In other words, we should not connive—we should not make ourselves participants in a device to defeat or delay the creditors, and thereby enable a gentleman who has successfully performed the feat of getting himself made bankrupt to avoid all the consequences of his bankruptcy, and to return to this House after he has successfully discharged his debts by means of this procedure in bankruptcy. That is my reason for opposing the Motion. This House of Commons has no right to enter into the devices of a bankrupt to defraud his creditors, and anyone who supports this Motion is making himself a party to a fraudulent trick to defeat the creditors.
§ Mr. DILLONI rise to a point of Order. Is it in order to speak of a fraudulent thing in reference to a case which is now sub judice by one of the parties to the case?
§ Mr. SPEAKERI did not know of the details of this matter until the hon. Member raised the question. This case, as I understand, is the subject - matter of litigation in the Courts in Ireland. I do not think that the hon. Member ought to remark upon any statement except, of course, a statement of fact. I do not think he ought to ask the House to come to a conclusion upon the conduct of Mr. Hazleton until the Courts have come to a decision.
§ Mr. T. M. HEALYI will give the hon. Gentleman a reply on the statement that I am a party to the case. I am not a party to the case in any shape or form. The hon. Gentleman has no right to say 909 so. But I do submit to the House that to make the procedure of this House dependent upon the action of the Bankruptcy Court is for this House to take a step which it has never before taken in its history. Of course, if we had not the speech of Mr. Hazleton in reference to his own action, I should not be justified in saying what I have said, but he avowed it in open terms—he went down to his late constituency and declared that this writ would be delayed for a month, and he declared further that he would then reappear before them discharged from his bankruptcy to again ask for their confidence. I, therefore, say that for this House to mould its procedure to such a trick of that kind or devices of that kind is to degrade the action of the House of Commons. Besides, are the rights of the constituency not involved? Is the constituency so wedded to a bankrupt that it must necessarily return one man and no other? [An HON. MEM-
§ BER: "He beat you!"] Yes, and the judges found it was done by bribery, intimidation, and fraud, and this Gentleman supposes he is entitled to play the game but not to pay the stakes. I wonder what would be thought of me if I were made the respondent in an election petition and resorted to bankruptcy proceedings to defeat my creditors, and if then some of my Friends came down here and said, "For the sake of heaven, delay the writ six or eight weeks in order that this bankrupt may return to this House and adorn it once more!" I, therefore, suggest that this delay which is now suggested by the hon. and gallant Gentleman (Captain Donelan) is one for which no foundation can be found and no reason can be given. Therefore, for our part, we strongly oppose the Motion.
§ Question put, "That the Debate be now adjourned."
§ The House divided: Ayes, 250; Noes, 119.
911| Division No. 149.] | AYES. | [3.55 p.m. |
| Abraham, William (Dublin, Harbour) | Cullinan, John | Harmsworth, Cecil (Luton, Beds) |
| Adamson, William | Dalziel, Rt. Hon. Sir J. H. (Kirkcaldy) | Harvey, A. G. C. (Rochdale) |
| Addison, Dr. Christopher | Davies, Ellis William (Eifion) | Harvey, T. E. (Leeds, West) |
| Agnew, Sir George William | Davies, Timothy (Lincs., Louth) | Haslam, Lewis |
| Ainsworth, John Stirling | Davies, Sir W. Howell (Bristol, S.) | Hayden, John Patrick |
| Alden, Percy | Dawes, James Arthur | Henderson, Arthur (Durham) |
| Allen, Arthur A. (Dumbartonshire) | Delany, William | Henry, Sir Charles |
| Allen, Rt. Hon. Charles P. (Stroud) | Denman, Hon. Richard Douglas | Herbert, General Sir Ivor (Mon., S.) |
| Armitage, Robert | Dillon, John | Higham, John Sharp |
| Arnold, Sydney | Doris, William J. | Hinds, John |
| Asquith, Rt. Hon. Herbert Henry | Duffy, William J. | Hobhouse, Rt. Hon. Charles E. H. |
| Baker, Harold T. (Accrington) | Duncan, C. (Barrow-in-Furness) | Hodge, John |
| Baker, Joseph Allen (Finsbury, E.) | Edwards, Sir Francis (Radnor) | Hogge, James Myles |
| Balfour, Sir Robert (Lanark) | Edwards, John Hugh (Glamorgan, Mid) | Holmes, Daniel Turner |
| Barlow, Sir John Emmott (Somerset) | Elverston, Sir Harold | Holt, Richard Durning |
| Barran, Sir John N. (Hawick Burghs) | Esmonde, Dr. John (Tipperary, N.) | Hope, John Deans (Haddington) |
| Barran, Rowland Hurst (Leeds, N.) | Esmonde, Sir Thomas (Wexford, N.) | Howard, Hon. Geoffrey |
| Beale, Sir William Phipson | Essex, Sir Richard Walter | Hughes, Spencer Leigh |
| Beck, Arthur Cecil | Esslemont, George Birnie | Illingworth, Percy H. |
| Benn, W. W. (T. Hamlets, St. George | Falconer, James | John, Edward Thomas |
| Bethell, Sir J. H. | Farrell, James Patrick | Johnson, William |
| Birrell, Rt. Hon. Augustine | Fenwick, Rt. Hon. Charles | Jones, Rt. Hon. Sir D.Brynmor (Swansea) |
| Boland, John Pius | Ffrench, Peter | Jones, Edgar (Merthyr Tydvil) |
| Booth, Frederick Handel | Field, William | Jones, H. Haydn (Merioneth) |
| Boyle, Daniel (Mayo, North) | Fitzgibbon, John | Jones, J. Towyn (Carmarthen, East) |
| Brady, Patrick Joseph | Flavin, Michael Joseph | Jones, Leif (Notts, Rushcliffe) |
| Brocklehurst, William B. | Furness, Sir Stephen Wilson | Jones, William (Carnarvonshire) |
| Bryce, J. Annan | Gelder, Sir W. A. | Jones, William S. Glyn- (Stepney) |
| Buckmaster, Sir Stanley O. | George, Rt. Hon. D. Lloyd | Jowett, Frederick William |
| Burt, Rt. Hon. Thomas | Ginnell, Laurence | Joyce, Michael |
| Buxton, Noel | Gladstone, W. G. C | Kellaway, Frederick George |
| Byles, Sir William Pollard | Glanville, Harold James | Kelly, Edward |
| Carr-Gomm, H. W. | Goddard, Sir Daniel Ford | Kennedy, Vincent Paul |
| Chancellor, Henry George | Goldstone, Frank | Kilbride, Denis |
| Chapple, Dr. William Allen | Greenwood, Hamar (Sunderland) | King, Joseph |
| Clancy, John Joseph | Greig, Colonel J. W. | Lambert, Rt. Hon. G. (Devon, S.Molton) |
| Clough, William | Griffith, Rt. Hon. Ellis Jones | Law, Hugh A. (Donegal, West) |
| Clynes, John R. | Guest, Hon. Major C. H. C. (Pembroke) | Lawson, Sir W. (Cumb'rld, Cockerm'th) |
| Collins, Godfrey P. (Greenock) | Guest, Hon. Frederick E. (Dorset, E.) | Levy, Sir Maurice |
| Collins, Sir Stephen (Lambeth) | Gulland, John William | Lewis, Rt. Hon. John Herbert |
| Compton-Rickett, Rt. Hon. Sir J. | Gwynn, Stephen Lucius (Galway) | Lough, Rt. Hon. Thomas |
| Cornwall, Sir Edwin A. | Hackett, John | Lundon, Thomas |
| Cotton, William Francis | Hall, Frederick (Yorks, Normanton) | Lyell, Charles Henry |
| Cowan, W. H. | Hancock, John George | Lynch, Arthur Alfred |
| Craig, Herbert J. (Tynemouth) | Harcourt, Rt. Hon. Lewis (Rossendale) | Macdonald, J. M. (Falkirk Burghs) |
| Crooks, William | Harcourt, Robert V. (Montrose) | Macnamara, Rt. Hon. Dr. T. J. |
| Crumley, Patrick | Hardie, J. Keir | MacNeill, J. G. Swift (Donegal, South) |
| MacVeagh, Jeremiah | Outhwaite, R. L. | Smyth, Thomas F. (Leitrim, S.) |
| M'Callum, Sir John M. | Palmer, Godfrey Mark | Spicer, Rt. Hon. Sir Albert |
| McKenna, Rt. Hon. Reginald | Parker, James (Halifax) | Strauss, Edward A. (Southwark, West) |
| M'Laren, Hon. F.W.S. (Lincs., Spalding) | Pearce, Robert (Staffs, Leek) | Sutherland, John E. |
| Manfield, Harry | Pearce, William (Limehouse) | Sutton, John E. |
| Marks, Sir George Croydon | Pease, Rt. Hon. Joseph A. (Rotherham) | Taylor, Theodore C. (Radcliffe) |
| Mason, David M. (Coventry) | Phillips, John (Longford, S.) | Taylor, Thomas (Bolton) |
| Meagher, Michael | Ponsonby, Arthur A. W. H. | Tennant, Rt. Hon. Harold John |
| Meehan, Francis E. (Leitrim, N.) | Pratt, J. W. | Thorne, G. R. (Wolverhampton) |
| Meehan, Patrick J. (Queen's Co., Leix) | Priestley, Sir W. E. B. (Bradford, E.) | Toulmin, Sir George |
| Middlebrook, William | Pringle, William M. R. | Trevelyan, Charles Philips |
| Molloy, Michael | Radford, George Heynes | Verney, Sir Harry |
| Molteno, Percy Alport | Raffan, Peter Wilson | Walsh, Stephen (Lancs., Ince) |
| Mond, Rt. Hon. Sir Alfred | Raphael, Sir Herbert H. | Walton, Sir Joseph |
| Montagu, Hon. E. S. | Rea, Rt. Hon. Russell (South Shields) | Ward, John (Stoke-upon-Trent) |
| Mooney, John J. | Reddy, Michael | Warner, Sir Thomas Courtenay T. |
| Morgan, George Hay | Redmond, John E. (Waterford) | Wason, Rt. Hon. E. (Clackmannan) |
| Morrell, Philip | Redmond, William (Clare, E.) | Wason, John Cathcart (Orkney) |
| Morison, Hector | Redmond, William Archer (Tyrone, E.) | Webb, H. |
| Muldoon, John | Richardson, Thomas (Whitehaven) | Wedgwood, Josiah C. |
| Munro, Rt. Hon. Robert | Roberts, Charles H. (Lincoln) | White, Patrick (Meath, North) |
| Murphy, Martin J. | Roberts, George H. (Norwich) | Whitehouse, John Howard |
| Murray, Captain Hon. Arthur C. | Roberts, Sir J. H. (Denbighs) | Whittaker, Rt. Hon. Sir Thomas P. |
| Nolan, Joseph | Robertson, Sir G. Scott (Bradford) | Whyte, Alexander F. (Perth) |
| Norton, Captain Cecil W. | Robertson, John M. (Tyneside) | Wiles, Thomas |
| Nuttall, Harry | Robinson, Sidney | Wilkie, Alexander |
| O'Connor, John (Kildare, N.) | Roche, Augustine (Louth) | Williams, Aneurin (Durham, N.W.) |
| O'Connor, T. P. (Liverpool) | Roe, Sir Thomas | Williamson, Sir Archibald |
| O'Doherty, Philip | Rowlands, James | Wilson, Hon. G. G. (Hull, W.) |
| O'Donnell, Thomas | Russell, Rt. Hon. Thomas W. | Wilson, W. T. (Westhoughton) |
| O'Dowd, John | Samuel, Rt. Hon. H. L. (Cleveland) | Wing, Thomas Edward |
| O'Kelly, Edward P. (Wicklow, W.) | Samuel, J. (Stockton-on-Tees) | Yeo, Alfred William |
| O'Kelly, James (Roscommon, N.) | Seely, Rt. Hon. Colonel J. E. B. | Young, William (Perthshire, East) |
| O'Malley, William | Sheehy, David | Yoxall, Sir James Henry |
| O'Shaughnessy, P. J. | Simon, Rt. Hon. Sir John Allsebrook | |
| O'Shee, James John | Smith, Albert (Lancs., Clitheroe) | TELLERS FOR THE AYES.—Captain |
| O'Sullivan, Timothy | Smith, H. B. Lees (Northampton) | Donelan and Mr. Patrick O'Brien. |
| NOES. | ||
| Agar-Robartes, Hon. T. C. R. | Gretton, John | Pretyman, Ernest George |
| Agg-Gardner, James Tynte | Guinness, Hon.W. E. (Bury S.Edmunds) | Pryce-Jones, Colonel E. |
| Anstruther-Gray, Major William | Gwynne, R. S. (Sussex, Eastbourne) | Rawson, Colonel Richard H. |
| Baird, John Lawrence | Hall, D. B. (Isle of Wight) | Rees, Sir J. D. |
| Balfour, Rt. Hon. A. J. (City, London) | Hamilton, C. G. C. (Ches., Altrincham) | Remnant, James Farquharson |
| Banbury, Sir Frederick George | Hamilton, Lord C. J. (Kensington, S.) | Sanders, Robert Arthur |
| Baring, Maj. Hon. Guy V. (Winchester) | Hardy, Rt. Hon. Laurence | Sassoon, Sir Philip |
| Barnston, Harry | Harrison-Broadley, H. B. | Scott, Sir S. (Marylebone, W.) |
| Beach, Hon. Michael Hugh Hicks | Healy, Timothy Michael (Cork, N.E.) | Sharman-Crawford, Colonel R. G. |
| Bentinck, Lord H. Cavendish- | Helmsley, Viscount | Stanier, Beville |
| Bigland, Altred | Henderson, Major H. (Berks, Abingdon) | Stanley, Hon. G. F. (Preston) |
| Boles, Lieut.-Colonel Dennis Fortescue | Hibbert, Sir Henry F. | Starkey, John Ralph |
| Boscawen, Sir Arthur S. T. Griffith- | Hills, John Waller | Staveley-Hill, Henry |
| Bowden, G. R. Harland | Hill-Wood, Samuel | Steel-Maitland, A. D. |
| Bridgeman, William Clive | Hoare, S. J. G. | Stewart, Gershom |
| Burn, Colonel C. R. | Hope, Harry (Bute) | Sykes, Alan John (Ches., Knutsford) |
| Butcher, John George | Hope, James Fitzalan (Sheffield) | Sykes, Sir Mark (Hull, Central) |
| Carlile, Sir Edward Hildred | Hope, Major J. A. (Midlothian) | Talbot, Lord Edmund |
| Castlereagh, Viscount | Horne, Edgar | Thomson, W. Mitchell- (Down, North) |
| Cecil, Evelyn (Aston Manor) | Law, Rt. Hon. A. Bonar (Bootle) | Tickler, T. G. |
| Cecil, Lord Hugh (Oxford University) | Lawson, Hon. H. (T. H'mts, Mile End) | Touche, George Alexander |
| Cecil, Lord R. (Herts, Hitchin) | Lee, Arthur Hamilton | Tullibardine, Marquess of |
| Chaplin, Rt. Hon. Henry | Lloyd, George Ambrose (Stafford, W.) | Valentia, Viscount |
| Clive, Captain Percy Archer | Locker-Lampson, G. (Salisbury) | Walker, Colonel William Hall |
| Clyde, J. Avon | Lockwood, Rt. Hon. Lt.-Colonel A. R. | Walrond, Hon. Lionel |
| Craik, Sir Henry | Long, Rt. Hon. Walter | Watson, Hon. W. |
| Crean, Eugene | M'Calmont, Major Robert C. A. | Weigall, Captain A. G. |
| Dixon, C. H. | M'Neill, Ronald (Kent. St. Augustine's) | Weston, Colonel J. W. |
| Duncannon, Viscount | Moore, William | Wheler, Granville C. H. |
| Du Pre, W. Baring | Morrison-Bell, Capt. E. F. (Ashburton) | Williams, Colonel R. (Dorset, W.) |
| Faber, George Denison (Clapham) | Morrison-Bell, Major A. C. (Honiton) | Wills, Sir Gilbert |
| Faber, Captain W. V. (Hants, W.) | Mount, William Arthur | Wilson. A. Stanley (Yorks, E.R.) |
| Falle, Bertram Godfray | Newton, Harry Kottingham | Wilson, Captain Leslie O. (Reading) |
| Fisher, Rt. Hon. W. Hayes | O'Brien, William (Cork, N.E.) | Winterton, Earl |
| Gardner, Ernest | O'Neill, Hon. A. E. B. (Antrim, Mid) | Wood, Hon. E. F. L. (Yorks, Ripon) |
| Gibbs, George Abraham | Orde-Powlett, Hon. W. G. A. | Yate, Colonel C. E. |
| Gilhooly, James | Paget, Almeric Hugh | Younger, Sir George |
| Gilmour, Captain John | Pease, Herbert Pike (Darlington) | |
| Goldsmith, Frank | Perkins, Walter Frank | TELLERS FOR THE NOES.—Mr. |
| Grant, J. A. | Peto, Basil Edward | Sheehan and Mr. Maurice Healy. |
| Greene, Walter Raymond | Pirie, Duncan V. |
§ Debate to be resumed to-morrow (Wednesday).