THE CHAIRMAN OF COMMITTEES. (Hansard, 4 April 1889)

§ THE PRIME MINISTER AND SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS (The Marquess of SALISBURY)
, in rising to move— That the Lord Balfour of Burley be appointed to take the Chair in all Committees of this House for the remainder of this Session; that the Lord Balfour of Burley do take the Chair in all Committees of the whole House unless it shall have been otherwise directed by the House; that the Lord Balfour of Burley do also take the Chair in all Committees upon Private Bills and other matters unless where it shall have been otherwise directed by the House, said: My Lords, when I made, in this House, a similar Motion, four years ago, I little thought it would ever be my lot to repeat it. It is an invidious motion to make, because it involves a question of preference, and it exposes the man who makes it to the imputation of not being sufficiently alive to the merits of those whom he may sincerely respect, but who are not the objects of his Motion. It is a Motion on which I 1534 certainly shall not propose to detain your Lordships long. The very nature of it—the very fact that we are arguing a personal question in the presence of the persons to whom we refer—makes it impossible that our arguments should be long, or that we should dwell upon them with great emphasis. On the other hand, though we are not able to go at any length into these questions, we have the happiness of knowing that the noble Lords whose qualifications are under consideration are well known to all Members of the House, and that they are as capable of forming a judgment as we are who make a Motion on the subject and recommend a judgment to the House. With regard to another noble Lord whose name I see the noble Earl opposite has put upon the Paper, I will only express in passing the very great respect which not only I, but I am sure all the Members of the House, feel for him both in his individual and his public capacity. And I wish carefully to guard myself from being supposed to utter a word which is disrespectful to him in the language which I am going to employ. On the contrary, I prefer to pass by the question of the alternative altogether, and in the very few remarks which I have to make confine myself to pointing out the reasons which appear to me to make it desirable to elect Lord Balfour of Burley to be the successor of the Duke of Buckingham, whom we so much lament. My Lords, Lord Balfour is well known to you as a noble Lord who has taken the deepest interest in the Private Business of this House, who is well acquainted with the Standing Orders and the Business of the House, who has taken a leading part in all discussions which concern the interior management and conduct of this House. 1535 He is a man also well known to you for great capacity and singular industry; a man of business, a man who has acquired in other fields among his own countrymen great influence and great estimation, and who has received much public employment. I will not enumerate the various occasions on which he has had public employment, but I will merely recall to the minds of your Lordships one duty which he had to perform, which was a duty of a critical and difficult character, and which brought out very forcibly a capacity for dealing with business, which is one of his great qualifications—I refer to his conduct of the Local Government Bill through this House last year. It was a Bill full of detail, full of questions of business, a Bill as to which there was much danger that it might be wrecked or seriously injured in this House, where many different opinions might prevail on matters with which your Lordships were exceptionally familiar; but he conducted it through with that grasp of subject and that perfect knowledge of detail which met every questioner and answered every objection, and he succeeded in uniting your Lordships without difficulty in maintaining the main principle of the Bill. My noble Friend occupies a position in Her Majesty's Government. I only refer to that in order to meet by anticipation a criticism which I remember the noble Earl opposite addressed to me with reference to the noble Duke who was the last holder of the office. He said to me, "Why, if you admire his business capacity, have you not included him in your Government?" Whatever justice or injustice there was in that argument on that occasion, it is an argument which is inapplicable now. My Lords, there is only one other consideration which makes me think at the present time that Lord Balfour of Burley would be a singularly fit occupant of this Chair. Our system of private business has many anomalies and defects, and I think that those anomalies and defects are somewhat exaggerated in some quarters; but the only part of the country where it meets with real hostility, and from which a demand for a change comes with great vehemence, is Scotland. I feel that in the discussions which lie before us in respect to private business, 1536 and in the conduct of any efforts that we may make for improving its procedure, and for meeting the complaints from Scotland to which I have referred, it will be a great advantage to have as the representative of the conduct of private business in this House the man through whose hands some of the most important portions of it passed a noble Lord who has established a great influence in Scotland, and who is thoroughly trusted by the men of business in that country. I feel that that would be a circumstance of great advantage, and at the present time a Scotchman, if we may make any preference among the three Kingdoms, is the fittest occupant of that Chair. My Lords, I will only venture to remind you in conclusion that there is one special quality which we require in dealing with our Chairman of Committees, and that quality is stiffness and firmness. He has to deal with a body of men who principally are remarkable for the variety and multiplicity of their ingenious modes of carrying their objects into effect. They are men whose appeals would melt any heart ordinarily soft, and whose sophistry would confuse any brain that was not exceptionally clear. They are some of the cleverest men which the country can produce, and they are men who will put into operation every means they can employ in order to carry out the duty which they have undertaken to their clients. In dealing with such men, I ventured to submit to your Lordships when the Luke of Buckingham was appointed that a stern and stiff character was an essential qualification of the noble Lord who has to occupy that Chair. In addition to these things he must have a great knowledge of business, he must be a man in whom men repose confidence in the transaction of business; and for all these reasons I move that the name of Lord Balfour of Burley be the one selected to follow that of my lamented Friend the Duke of Buckingham.

§ EARL GRANVILLE
My Lords, I quite agree with the preface of the noble Marquess's speech, and I should have preferred if the Leader of the House had proposed a Peer for the Chairmanship of your Lordships' Committees who would have been unanimously considered not only 1537 as a good candidate, but as the best. But, as on the last occasion, this has not been found possible. The choice is all the more important for the House itself and for the public, because, although you appoint the Chairman at the beginning of every Session, yet, from the custom which obtains, the first appointment is hardly more provisional than the selection of a wife in private life. You take him for better or worse. I wish it to be clearly understood that I raise no objection to Lord Balfour. He has of late years deservedly gained the respect of your Lordships, and, although I must bring in a few words in comparison between the two, as it is our duty to compare their claims, yet nothing will fall from me offensive to the noble Lord. With regard to his nationality, I confess I thought the argument on that point was a little more ingenious than conclusive, and it is one that I am not sure will not be appreciated by the Irish Peers whom I see opposite. The only question is whether this would be the best possible appointment? When, three years ago, I proposed Lord Morley, I dwelt upon the complete fulfilment in this House of the promise which his great distinction at Oxford had given. I appealed to the way in which he took part in our debates, the authority with which he conducted the business of the important offices which he had represented here, and the power which he undoubtedly possesses of getting hold of the favourable attention of the House. I mentioned the high reputation he had obtained, during six years in the Home Office and five years in the War Office, for ability, judgment, and tact, for celerity combined with accuracy. The noble Marquess, three years ago, laid great stress upon the Duke of Buckingham's experience in important offices of the State, and upon his having had the training of a Chairman of Quarter Sessions. He laid it down as a necessity of the position of our Chairman that sufficient authority should be attached to the decisions which he gives. He should, he said, be a person of that age, experience, and past services which imposed his judgment upon others. Well, Lord Morley was for many years a Chairman of Quarter Sessions; he is now Deputy 1538 Chairman of the County Council. He is older than Lord Balfour; he has been twice as long in this House, and in constant attention to its private business. He has been successfully performing official work for more years than Lord Balfour has done for months. In stating his peculiar qualifications I am not merely giving my own opinion; they were recognized three years ago by Peers from each of the political sections of the House. I trust that the same evidence of opinion will be forthcoming this evening, more especially after the distinct assurance which has been given by the noble Marquess, and on which I entirely place my confidence, that he wishes to exercise no Party influence on this occasion. My Lords, I move, as an Amendment, that Lord Morley's name be substituted for that of Lord Balfour.

THE DUKE OF ABERCORN
I rise to second the proposition of the noble Earl opposite. I hope in doing so that I am not taking any unusual course, and that your Lordships will not think for one instant that I am in any way wavering in my political allegiance to the noble Marquess. On the contrary, I may say that that allegiance increases every day. Neither can it be said that I am under the seductive influence of the noble Earl opposite—that seductive influence which it is well known he exercises upon several noble Lords in this House and many other persons outside the House. The noble Marquess has distinctly stated that this is not a political matter, and that the House, in making its selection, is to be guided by its own opinion. Therefore I trust that the noble Lord (Lord Balfour) who has been proposed by the noble Marquess will not think that, in seconding the proposition of the noble Earl, I, in any way, intend to show disrespect to him. On the contrary, no one in this House admires more than I do the great ability which has distinguished that noble Lord during the time he has had the honour of a seat in this House. But, to speak plainly and straightforwardly to your Lordships, I think that Lord Morley has the first claim. It may be within your Lordships' 1539 recollection that about three years ago the noble Marquess stated that the noble Lord to be selected as Chairman of Committees should be one who had the greatest experience of private and public Committees. For that reason the Duke of Buckingham was selected. To use an expression which may not be unfamiliar to your Lordships, Lord Morley was second favourite on that occasion. Now that the circumstances have altered, I venture to think that he might be considered first favourite. His Lordship has, during his 21 years of experience in this House, met with the approbation of your Lordships, both with regard to his studiousness and his ability, and the time during which he was free from the trammels of the Government he has devoted to the private Committees of this House. Upon them he has shown ability, quickness of perception, firmness, tact, and courtesy. The noble Marquess has spoken of firmness as one of the great attributes which ought to distinguish the Chair. That attribute distinguishes Lord Morley. I cannot, my Lords, sit down without expressing my sorrow—a sorrow which I am sure will be shared by all your Lordships—at the reason which has brought us here to-day in order to make a new selection of Chairman. The late Duke of Buckingham was only a few days ago among us and suddenly was taken from us. His loss will be felt by your Lordships, and especially by those with whom he was brought in contact in connection with the work of public and private Committees.