Sitting of 3 February 1841

MINUTES.
NEW WRITS.— St. Albans, Vice Hon. Edward Harbottle Grimston, Chiltern Hundreds.
Petitions presented. By Sir E. B. Vere, from places in Suffolk, in favour of Church Extension.

THE LATE J. RICKMAN, ESQ.
Lord John Russell:— Sir, in rising to move the resolution of the House of which I have given notice with respect to the late Mr. Rickman, expressing its sense with regard to the length and the meritorious nature of the services, I am sure it is one which will call for the general concurrence of the House. No man could have been more eligible or better fitted for the important situation he so long occupied; and no man was more eminent for a knowledge of the privileges, precedents, and every thing which related to the practice of the House. I wish, Sir, I could, without violating any of the forms of the House, add something to the resolution, expressing the sense of the House of Mr. Rickman's services to the country generally, by his labours in everything relating to all matters of public interest where statistical information could be required. No one can feel more strongly than I do the value of his services in matters of that kind; but it appears to me that we must confine our Resolution to the services performed by Mr. Rickman to this House. I therefore move this Resolution:—
"That this House entertains a just and high sense of the distinguished and exemplary manner in which John Rickman, Esq., late Clerk Assistant of this House, uniformly discharged the duties of his situation during his long attendance at the Table of this House."
Mr. Goulburn: Sir,— I hope I may be permitted to mark my sense of the services of Mr. Rickman by seconding the motion of the noble Lord. It was my good fortune to have been acquainted with Mr. Rickman at a very early period, before he occupied a seat at that Table, where the manner in which he uniformly discharged his duties calls upon the House now to express its great regret at his loss. Mr. Rickman was distinguished at that time by all those qualities which have been enumerated by the noble Lord, and there was an universal feeling; of approbation and pleasure
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when Mr. Rickman was appointed to the office he so long filled, I feel justified in saying he filled it not only with satisfaction to the House, but to every individual Member of it; and in saying that, I am not only expressing my individual sentiments, but the sentiments of every one hearing me — I have often myself experienced the benefit of Mr. Rickman's knowledge on subjects in general, for he was ever ready to impart to others the information he had acquired, and to enable those who took part in the debates of the House to make themselves masters of the subjects to which their attention was directed, and without which knowledge they would have been scarcely able to place their views clearly and accurately before the House. For myself, therefore, I most cordially join in the sentiments which have been expressed by the noble Lord in this tribute of respect to Mr. Rickman; and I am sure, that the country also is deeply indebted to him. I have no doubt that there will be a general feeling among those who have known the extent and value of his labours to express that opinion unanimously, and thus to mark the sense of the House of his services.
Mr. Hume: Sir,—I am unwilling to allow this vote to pass without expressing my humble approbation of the conduct of the late Mr. Rickman. I have never known a public officer so modest, so unassuming, possessed of such varied knowledge respecting the affairs of Parliament, and yet so ready to afford every information to others. The labours of Mr. Rickman generally in statistical matters, to which I have paid particular attention have been highly valuable, and specially as regards the preface to the population returns,—will stand unrivalled in the amount of information, and in the concise manner in which he brought it before this House. I therefore most cordially concur in expressing my sense of the value of his services. I may add that I had frequently, occasion to consult him on matters connected with the rules of this House, and the documents before it, and I always found him most friendly, and ready to afford every information in his power. I am bound to say that I received the most valuable assistance from Mr. Rickman in my various duties in this House; and no man who saw the manner in which he discharged his duties at the Table of this House, could doubt the value of his services. I therefore, most cordially support the motion.
Sir R. H. Inglis: Sir,—I desire to bear my part in this general testimony of respect to the late Mr. Rickman, and to the

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value of his services to the House. My noble Friend has stilted, that it does not form any part of his resolution to express the sense of the House upon other parts of his conduct and labour, because it did not appear to him that this was the proper tribunal to pay the tribute of respect due to the general services rendered by him. Were it not for this, Sir, there are many Members who would cordially bear their testimony to the value of the assistance derived, not merely from the personal services of Mr. Rickman in this place, but from his general knowledge and deep and accurate information on every branch of statistics. It was stated of Mr. Rickman by one of his earliest friends, the late Charles Lamb, that he was a man of the most matter and the fewest words; in fact, his voice was scarcely ever heard except for the purpose of affording general information; and when a question was put to him, he gave his answers in a manner unrivalled for precision and accuracy, and which equally characterized all his communications. Sir,—The value of Mr. Rickman's services has been experienced in this House in another department of great importance to the House,—I mean the library. It must be known to many Members that it was Mr. Rickman who drew up a general sketch of the library, intituled, "Catalogue of Books in the Library at the House of Commons," a classical sketch of the books which ought to form the basis of a Parliamentary library. To many Gentlemen it is not necessary I should refer to his labours with regard to the population returns; but I would venture to say, that independently of its instructiveness a more entertaining preface than the one to the last census can scarcely be found to any work. These are minor matters, which hardly deserve to be mentioned when speaking of the value of his services as an officer of the House. It is from the discharge of his graver duties, and the important assistance which he has rendered to every man who has borne a part in the public proceedings of the House, that his claim upon the gratitude of the House and the country arises. For his services in relation to the population returns, and the abstracts furnished of those returns, he was allowed a certain sum; but I believe it was never more than sufficient to defray the necessary expenses incurred; and I have good reason to know that he also incurred considerable expense (though some of those, in whose service it was incurred, might think it inconsiderable) out of his own pocket. But, Sir, the predo-
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minant claim which he has to the attention of this House in particular, is the facility with which we are now furnished with information of what passes in the House, in consequence of the alterations which he suggested. It will be recollected by many of my hon. Friends, that formerly the votes were not delivered till four days after the business had occurred, and that it was in the year 1817, in a paper which Mr. Rickman sent to the Speaker, he suggested the alteration which was adopted by the House, and which led to the present plan. The form of recording the business of the House was so cumbrous, that four days were necessary to produce the votes; and, in addition to the evil of that delay, at that time Members had not the advantage of receiving notice of the proceedings of the House on the following day. All these facilities emanated, I may say directly from Mr. Rickman; they were of course the act of the House; but it was upon the paper drawn by him in 1817 that your predecessor acted, and upon which the report of the committee was founded. For all these reasons I most cordially concur in the motion which has been placed in your hands by my noble friend.
Mr. Bernal: Sir,—I should be very sorry to allow this opportunity to pass without adding my testimony to the value of the services of our late Clerk Assistant; I have reason to speak of his merits, for I had good opportunity of testing them. Sir,—Mr. Rickman possessed stores of knowledge, deep, varied, and extensive, not only with regard to Parliamentary matters, but other subjects connected with the history of the country generally. He was an excellent scholar; and I never applied to Mr. Rickman when he was not ready to afford me the information required. He was not slow to impart his knowledge to those who sought his assistance: he was solid is matter, though brief in language. When first I had the honour of sitting at that Table as Chairman of the Committees of the House of Commons, I derived constantly the most valuable assistance from Mr. Rickman: he had the merit, and a most valuable merit it was, of unwearying industry; and if he possessed a great and deep store of knowledge and learning, he day by day added to that store of knowledge, and he was not slow in the communication of it to those who needed it; I can bear good testimony to that, because the little knowledge I have derived, while sitting at that Table, is owing to the kindness and amenity of our lamented Friend.
The resolution was then put by the

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Speaker, and agreed to nemine contradicente.