§ EARL DE GREY AND RIPON moved the second reading of the Bill, the object of which was to relieve Her Majesty from the necessity of affixing her signature or sign manual oftener than once to any commission issued to any officer of the regular army, or marines, and some officers in the Militia and Volunteers. The Bill provided that when Her Majesty has once directed by her sign manual the appointment of an officer to any rank, it should not be necessary that the commission issued from the office of the Secretary of State should also be signed by Her Majesty, but that the signatures of the Secretary of State and of the Commander-in-Chief, or of the Lords of the Admiralty, as the case might require, should be sufficient.
§ THE EARL OF DERBYsaid, it was undoubtedly an object of importance that any commission which was issued should be brought directly under the consideration of Her Majesty. He therefore thought that this Bill was one which required to be carefully looked into before it passed their Lordships' House. At the same time, he was bound to say he knew himself that much inconvenience and much unnecessary labour were cast upon the Crown by the multiplication of signatures required under the present system. As the noble Lord explained correctly, the object of the Bill was to relieve Her Majesty from the labour of signing her name so very frequently, as it often happened that Her Majesty had to sign her name three times to the same instrument. Under the proposed Bill Her Majesty would be asked to sign her name only to the authority under which the commission was issued. If that could be done effectually by this Bill it would be a most desirable object to accomplish. With a view to provide still further security, and as a means of identification of Her Majesty's signature, the Secretary of State, or whoever else had to sign the actual commission, should be required to state on the face of the document that it was issued in pursuance of Her Majesty's sign manual of a certain date.
§ THE EARL OF DERBYwas quite satisfied to leave the matter in the hands of the noble Earl.
§ Motion agreed to.
1710§ Bill read 2a, and committed to a Committee of the Whole House.