SITTINGS OF THE HOUSE. (Hansard, 16 October 1902)

§ * EARL SPENCER
Perhaps the noble Duke will inform the House what he proposes should be done with regard to the sittings of this House during this adjourned Session of Parliament?

§ THE LORD PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL (The DUKE of DEVONSHIRE)
Your lordships are aware that there are no Orders or notices on the Paper today, 11 and so far as I can learn there is no probability of there being any business for this House to consider immediately. Probably it will therefore be convenient that we should adjourn for a short time, and I would suggest that we should adjourn for a little more than a fortnight, until Monday, November 3.

§ * EARL SPENCER
So far as I have heard from friends of mine, and as far as I feel myself on the subject, I should certainly be quite ready to agree to the proposal the noble Duke has made. May I refer to another matter? There was a Select Committee appointed just before the adjournment, and I had the honour to be selected as Chairman at the only meeting which took place—I refer to the Light Load Line Committee. Since then the representative of the Government on the Committee has become Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and I hardly think that my noble friend will have such anxiety to take part in the business of the House and this Committee that he will come over from Ireland for the Purpose. That may be a reason for reconsidering the constitution of the Committee. I do not believe it is usual or customary for Select Committees to sit when the House meets as it now does—I think it would be very inconvenient to noble Lords who are on this Committee that it should sit when the House will be only sitting on occasional days. I do not know whether the noble Duke will have any objection to it, but I should certainly propose that the sittings of this Committee should be postponed until the ordinary meeting of Parliament next year.

§ THE DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE
The reason given by my noble friend with reference to the appointment of the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade to the Lord Lieutenancy of Ireland will no doubt render it necessary to make a fresh appointment to this Committee. I think it would certainly be most highly inconvenient that noble Lords should be expected to attend the sittings of a Committee when the House is not regularly sitting; and unless the business before a Committee is of so urgent a character as not to permit of postponement, I think the preferable course would be that its sittings should be adjourned to the regular Session. I think this 12 observation entirely applies to the Committee referred to, and I suggest therefore that the proceedings should be adjourned until the ordinary Session.