§ VISCOUNT NOVAR rose to move, That Standing Order No. XXI be considered in order to its being suspended for this day's sitting as respects the Notice standing in his name, and that that Notice have precedence over the Notices standing in the names of the Lord Sydenham, the Lord Raglan, and the Lord Pentland.
§ The noble Viscount said: My Lords, the Motion which stands in my name has been placed upon the Paper with the courteous assent of the noble Lords who have precedence of me upon the Notice Paper. The matter to which I wish to call attention has, within the last week or two, become a matter of extreme urgency. I am informed that it will not be convenient for the House if I put down the Question for to-morrow, and I have an important engagement at the Royal Colonial Institute this evening. I hope that, in the circumstances, your Lordships will agree to this Motion.
§ Moved, That Standing Order No. XXI be considered in order to its being suspended for this day's sitting as respects the Notice standing in the name of the Viscount Novar, and that that Notice have precedence over the Notices standing in the names of the Lord Sydenham, the Lord Raglan, and the Lord Pentland.—(Viscount Novar.)
§ LORD MUIR MACKENZIEMy Lords, I am inclined to suggest that, if this Motion is to be agreed to, it should be upon the distinct understanding that it is a very exceptional occasion, and that it will not be taken as a precedent. Standing Order No. XXI cannot, of course, be compared in importance with Standing Order No. XXXIX, which I look upon as the sheet anchor of the House, an anchor which, unfortunately, is again and again weighed on the representation of the Government. Nevertheless, I think that Standing Order No. XXI is a very useful Order, and particularly in this respect. No doubt every one of your Lordships, being a busy man, 147 looks at the Paper in the morning in order to see at what time he can safely come down to the House to take part in the business in which he is interested. He comes down to the House and finds that the Order has been altered upon a Motion made by one noble Lord with the consent of ethers. That is the very thing against which this Standing Order was intended to guard your Lordships, and, speaking from a very long recollection, I do not think that, until the other day, when it was moved for the special convenience of the House by Lord Buckmaster, a Motion to suspend Standing Order No. XXI has ever been made. I have not looked into the matter to see if that is so; I am trusting to my memory, and I may be wrong; but I am sure that all of your Lordships will bear me out in saying that it is certainly a course which has been very seldom taken. I think it would be a great pity if it were to become at all a practice, and I venture to suggest to your Lordships that, if you think fit to allow the Motion on this occasion, it will be understood that it is not the first of a series of Motions of this character.
THE EARL OF CRAWFORDMy Lords, I am so habitual an offender myself in these matters that it is perhaps imprudent of me to offer any remark on the subject. I discussed it with my noble friend, Lord Novar, yesterday, and I told him that I took no objection, so far as my friends and I were concerned, to his advancing his Motion, but I confess that I did not appreciate that in doing so he was going to take precedence of four other Notices of Motion upon the Paper. I believe that none of them, as it so happens, will take very long, but I hope that if such a course is taken again agreement will be sought, not only from those in whose names the Question stands, but likewise from the Ministers who are expected to answer those Questions. My noble friend, Lord Peel, for the first time, now learns that lie is not to answer one of these Questions until a later stage than he had expected. I am sure your Lordships will agree to the Motion as it stands, but I hope this course will not be taken very often.
§ THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURYMy Lords, I am not in the same difficulty in dealing with this subject as the noble Earl. There are many sins on my conscience, but this particular one is not among those 148 for which I have to answer. He, I think, is a very habitual offender.
§ THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURYI am aware of that. I am afraid that I did know of the intention of my noble friend, Lord Novar, and I did not express any objection to it. Consequently, I am a little diffident of saying anything against it now, and perhaps by general consent of the House it may be allowed. I agree, however, that it is an unfortunate precedent to set, and I hope it will not be repeated. It can be said in its favour that the noble Lords whom it affects have agreed to it. If they were unwilling to agree, I think it would be absolutely unacceptable. The noble Earl has shown that it is not sufficient to ask noble Lords in charge of Motions, and that there are other noble Lords also concerned, in this case a noble Lord who is so hard worked as the Secretary of State for India. I am afraid that this illustrates the inconvenience of this practice, and, though for my part I am willing to accept the present Motion in the circumstances, I think that it ought not to be used as a precedent.
THE LORD SPEAKERMy Lords, I am very glad the noble Marquess has made these observations. I rise only to add one sentence. I always feel that one of the things from which we most suffer in this House is uncertainty. It is not only in cases like this, where we are going a very long way in suspending the Standing Order. Your Lordships know—leaving the Government out for a moment—that it is a very usual thing for a proposed Motion to be postponed, thereby often very seriously inconveniencing members of the rank and file of your Lordships' House. I agree, entirely, with what Lord Crawford said about Ministers who have to answer, but your Lordships also have a number of independent Peers interested in questions. I am just as much in the white sheet as anybody else, but I dislike very much the idea of postponing or altering the time of any business, except with very full Notice. I think it would be a very great calamity if we started altering, and I do not know where it might lead us in the end.
§ On Question, Motion agreed to.