The Express.
London, England, 1862-05-20 00:00:00

PRIVATE BUSINESS.

The Great Western Railway (additional powers) Bill was
read a second time. The following bills were read a third
time and pared :—Willord Bridge, Londonderry sad Cole-
raine Railway, Inverness and Abenkeu Junction and Inver-
ness and Roeshire Railway Ocanpanira, hollow and Kitmore
Commons Indoors, lasdbarn, Linton, and Dolphinton
Railway, London and Routh Western Railway (additional
powers), and Halifax Corporation Bills.

MODE OF TAKING DIVISION&
The Marquis of BATH moved foe the appointment of a
select committee to take into consideration the resolutioo of
the house regulating the mode of taking divisions, and to
report whether any improvement could be effected. The
noble lord alluded to the circumstance that occurred a few
evenings ego of the Bishop of Winchester going by mis-
take into the lobby with the " contents ' when he
intended to vote with the "not-contents," and to the
decision which was come to upon that occasion,
that the vote of the right rev. prdate should be recorded
upon the aide on which he intended to vote. That decision
was advocated principally upon the ground that it was in
accordance with the practice of the House of Commons, but
he found that on the 9th of April, 1856, when • similar cir-
cumstance occurred in the lower house, the vote of the hon.
member who made the mistake was ordered to be taken
with those in the lobby into which he had gone, and not
with the side on which he originally intended to vote. If,
therefore, they passed now the resolution of which the
chairman of ways and means bad given notice, their lord-
ships would be perpetuating a practice which was at
variance with the practice of the House of Commons. He
thought it advisable that the course to be taken in any
future difficulty of the kind should be guided by the de-
cision of a select committee, and the same tribunal might
also take into ita consideration the question in what case
noble lords were to be considered within the house when a
question was pat, and whether it might not be advisable to
adopt the practice of the House of CAMIIIIIOIIs with regard to
allowing • certain tame to elapse after a question bad been
put, and before the doors were closed, so that those who
were waiting in the neighbourhood might not be shut out
hom the division.
Fard GRAN VILLE did not think the noble marquis had
made out any case for • select committee ; but thought the
proposal of the noble lord the chairman of corcmittees
would effectually meet such a difficulty as that which
occurred the other evening, while other cases such as the
noble marquis bad Alluded to might well be left until they
MOM

The motion was then withdrawn.
Lord 11EDE9DALE thereupon moved his resolution,
which, with a verbal alteration introduced by the noble
lord, stood thus :—" That if any lord shall have by
mistake gone out with the contents or not-coutents,
the ease may be, having intended to vote on the other side,
be shall wait until she other lards in the same lobby
shall have passed out, and on presenting himself to the
tellers desire that he may not be counted by them, he
having entered that lobby by mistake ; and the tellers shall
thereupon come with such lord to the table and infinite
the house of the circumstance, and shell ask the said lord
whether he was in the house when the question was put ;
and if he shall reply in the affirmative, whether he desires
to vote content or not-content on such question, and the
vote of the said lord, se then declared b him, shall
be Liken by the tellers in the house and reom by them
accordingly."
This resolution was carried unanimously, and the house
adjourned at twenty minutes to six.

BOTISK OF 001010N8.-.—MONDAY, MAY 19.
The BYILALZR took the chair at 4 o'clock.
PRIVATE BUSINESS.

The following bills were read a third time and passed :
Bolton and Blackburn Road ; Bridge of Weir Railway ;
Falmouth Water; and Shrewsbw7 and Hereford Railway
NEW WRIT.

Upon the motion of Mr BRAND, a DOW writ was ordered
to issue fur the borough of Kidderminster in the room of
Mr. Bristow, who had ecoepted the oftloe of the Chiltern
Hundreds.
CHURCH RATES.

Sir J. TRELAWNY asked the hon. member for North
Wilts wbolher he proposed to take any steps in that house
in pursuance of the motion recently carried with reference
to church rates.

Mr. S. EnCOURT said that unless the government were
disposed to take up the matter, he should, as an individual
member, follow np the question which the house had sanc-
tioned at his suggestion last week, and give a notice on the
subject on Friday next, with a view of inducing the house
to affirm some miaciple upon which legislation should be
based. (Hear, hear.)