§ THE EARL OF DERBYsaid, he desired to call attention to a matter which appeared to him to be of some importance as regarded their Lordships' convenience. A noble Lord opposite (Lord Campbell), whom he saw in his place, had given notice of his intention on three successive Mondays to bring before their Lordships a very important question relating to the condition of Poland. On three successive Fridays, when it was impossible for any other Notice to be placed on the paper, the noble Lord had announced his intention— not in the House—to postpone his Motion for another week. Now, as there were only two days in the week on which Notices of Motion took precedence of Orders of the Day, it was very inconvenient that other noble Lords should be prevented from putting Notices on the paper by the fact of the noble Lord opposite having a Notice of Motion there, which might lead to a lengthened discussion. He understood that the noble Lord had again postponed his Motion, he did not know till when, but probably till the following Monday. For his own part, he had no personal 1862 interest in the matter, because he had no intention of taking a part in the expected discussion; but he thought that this practice of putting Notices on the paper week after week, and then postponing them at the very last moment, was one both unusual and inconvenient. He therefore begged to ask the noble Lord, whether it was his intention to bring forward his Motion on the day for which he had now fixed it?
LORD CAMPBELLsaid, the specific ground on which he had postponed the notice till next Monday was, that a debate upon the subject was expected in a few days in the other House of Parliament, which he deemed it better to follow than precede, because it might elicit facts important to be brought under the notice of their Lordships before they entered on the Question. He should proceed upon the 9th of May, unless the business or convenience of the House prevented him from doing so. With regard to the notice having already been postponed, he (Lord Campbell) could not enter into any explanation of the circumstances without going into matters which were to some extent personal and private. By taking such a course, he should stand too long between the noble Earl and the large number who were there to hear him on the interesting Question of the Steam Rams.