THE CHAIRMAN OF COMMITTEES. (Hansard, 29 April 1931)

§ THE LORD PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL (LORD PARMOOR)
My Lords, I rise to move the Resolution which stands in my name on the Order Paper, for the appointment of Lord Onslow as Chairman of Committees. Yesterday we had finally to accept the resignation of our late Chairman of Committees, Lord Donoughmore; to-day we have to appoint his successor. I only want to say that it is an appointment entirely in the hands of your Lordships' House without any interference from outside, either from the Government or any other Party. Therefore I thought it right, and the noble and learned Viscount, Lord Hailsham, and the noble Earl, Lord Beauchamp, agreed with me, that we should meet together and consult as to the best appointee that we could suggest to take over the onerous duties of our Chairman of Committees, who is largely responsible for the regularity and order of our business in this House, and more particularly of our private business—which I regard as a very important part indeed of our legislative duties.
As your Lordships will see on the Paper we were all agreed in suggesting that the noble Earl, Lord Onslow, he appointed to the office of Lord Chairman. Lord Onslow, of course, has had a large experience of business in this House. He first came here more than twenty years ago in succession to his father and he has occupied a series of offices during the time that he has been a member of this House—I do not think I need enumerate them—and showed in all of those offices a keen business power and appreciation of the duties and privileges which this House possesses. Without further words, therefore, I propose the Resolution which stands in my name, asking the two noble Lords to whom I have referred to express, if they desire to do so, their feeling that we have met in order to bring before the House the best candidate whom we could propose at the present time.

§ VISCOUNT HAILSHAM
My Lords, I am very glad that the noble and learned Lord the Leader of the House has seen his way to make the suggestion which is contained in the Motion now before this House. It has been well said by the noble Earl the Leader of the Liberal Party, that the difficulty in selecting a suitable person to fill the office of Chairman of Committees in this House lies rather in the wealth of material from which we have to select than in any difficulty in finding; a suitable person; but I am quite sure that in the suggestion which this Motion contains a very wise and, I hope, a very fortunate choice has been made. My noble friend Lord Onslow will bring to his office, if he is selected, a very long experience of public service. He has been repeatedly a Chairman of Royal Commissions and of various Committees, and he has a knowledge of the intricacies of local government which will stand him in good stead in the duties which he is, I hope, about to perform.
I am sure that we on this side of the House entirely concur in the expression of opinion to which the noble and learned Lord the Leader of the House gave expression, that this is a matter, not for the Government or for any Party leader, but for the House as a, whole. But I hope that if the choice of the House should fall upon my noble friend Lord Onslow, your Lordships will find in him one who will worthily fill the high office to which he is called and who will maintain those traditions and those standards which your Lordships are accustomed to find in the Chairmen of Committees whom it has selected in the past.

§ EARL BEAUCHAMP
My Lords, in an hereditary House it is particularly suitable that we should appoint to succeed 934 the noble Earl, Lord Donoughmore, a noble Earl whose ancestry has been connected with this kind of business in the past. I cannot but remember that in the sixteenth, the seventeenth and, I think, the eighteenth century there have been either ancestors or collateral ancestors of Lord Onslow who have been occupied with duties of this kind, either as Speakers in another place or in similar offices in the Elizabethan period, in the Stuart period and also in the Hanoverian period. It therefore is particularly suitable that we should ask the noble Earl, Lord Onslow, to take the Chair in your Lordships' House. Further, may I say that, since I have been a member of your Lordships' House, I remember very well how his father was a most acceptable Chairman of Committees, whom everybody in this House used to respect, and for whose conspicuous fairness we had great admiration. I am quite sure I may say that the noble Earl himself can have no higher ambition than to fulfil the duties of the office as well as his father was able to do.
For myself and for the noble Lords who are good enough to act with me, I would venture to say that we offer him our most cordial support, and that we shall be anxious to do our very best to help him. As in regard to his predecessor, Lord Donoughmore, in relation to the private business of this House I am very anxious to put my conscience in the care of the noble Earl, Lord Onslow, if he is good enough to accept this position, and to promise him on our behalf every support we can possibly give him.

§ THE EARL OF WEMYSS
My Lords, perhaps as what I may call the doyen of those who habitually serve as Chairmen of your Committees, I may be allowed not only to congratulate the noble Earl on his appointment but to express our confident belief that in the difficult task of succeeding Lord Donoughmore, whose resignation and its cause we all so deeply deplore, Lord Onslow will achieve a success which will fully vindicate the discrimination of your Lordships in appointing him to the honourable post of Lord Chairman. I would only add that if in the course of our service on your Committees we have gained any experience and if at any time we can offer to the 935 noble Earl our assistance and support, it will be entirely at his service whenever he may like to avail himself of it.

§ THE LORD CHANCELLOR (LORD) SANKEY)
My Lords, I should like to be permitted as Lord Chancellor to support this Motion. I am sure the House is fortunate in obtaining the services as Lord Chairman of Committees of the noble Earl, whose ancestors have so often and so well exhibited in both Houses of Parliament and with great advantage to the country the qualities necessary for the proper discharge of this high office. The appointment of the noble Earl, who has had great experience in this class of work, will be welcome to every member of your Lordships' House. May I be permitted to congratulate him upon what I know will be the result of this Motion?