The Sun.
London, England, 1852-11-04 00:00:00

:;&: btttofl.

SUN OFFICE, Six o' Clock.

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT,

HOUSE OF COMMONS.
(THIS EVENING.)

ELECTION OF SPEAKER.

After the return of the House from the Lords,
Mr. R. PALMER rose, and addressing Sir D. Le
Marchant, the Chief Clerk of the House, said it now de-
volved on the House of Commons, in obedience to her
Majesty's commands, to proceed to the performance of

its first, and one of its most important duties, viz.., v-
)(ding from among their own body some Hon. Member
who should fill during the present Parliament the Chair

Of the nous?. He did not undertake the task of ad-
d:essing the House on such a subject without consider-

able beiitatioe, for he was well aware of the great per

sonal responsibility which attached to any person
tvho ventured to propose an Honourable Mem-
ber for so high and important a post, knowirg
that upon his ability, and the efficiency with which he
discharged his duties, all the regularity of their proceed-
ings must depena ; nut on the present occasion he ries
fortunately relieved from any difficulty in this respect,
for he rejoiced to see among them again his Right Hun.
Friend, the Member for North Hampshire,—(Cheers)—
who had filled the chair of this House during the last 13
years with so much advantage to the country, and so
much honour to himself—(Cheers)—and who had ren-
dered it a less difficult task to select the best qualified
among them for that high and distinguished situation.
(Hear.) Under these circumstances he did not think it
necessary to trespass on the attention of the House by
any detailed information on the various duties that at-
tached to the Speaker of the House of Commons. (Hear.;
They were sufficiently well known to most hon. members
who bad before sat is the House. Suffice it to say, there-
fore, that in the choice of a Speaker they must lock for
some individuel whose intimate acquaintance with the
law and practice of Parliament would render him at all
times a ready exponent of all those rules and orders by
which their proceedings were regulated, so as to enable
them on all occasions to confidently rely on his deci-
sions. They must also look for a person who would up-
hold and defend the ancient rights and privileges of the
House of Commons, if they should at any time become
the object of an attack from any quarter—privileges
which were not granted to the House of Commons
for individual benefit, but for the benefit of
the community whom they were sent there to
represent. (Hear.) They must also look for a gentle_
man who in the midst of party contest, and sometimes of
debate, was enabled to lay aside all party feeling, and to
maintain, while presiding over their proceedings, strict
and undeviating impartialiry. (Hear.) For all those
qualifications, every one who had witnessed the conduct
of the Right Hon. Gentleman in the chair would agree
wiLh him, that he had proved himself to be most emi-

uently respected. (Cheers.) Ho thought he might add
that, in upholding the dignity of the ( ffice, and in pre-
serving an equal and unruffled equanimity of temper
under all circumstancze, his Right licn. Friend hail not
been surpassed by any of his predecessors. (Loud
cheers.) He thought ho had said sufficient to induce all

Hon. Members who had before sat in the House to agree
with him in the motion which he was about to make ;

but if he were permitted to say one word to than

large number of Honourable Members who had for the
first time been sent there to take part in the deliberations
of that House, he could assure them that they would
always find his Right Hon. Friend ready to assist them
by his advice and experience if any difficulty should arise
in the transaction of the private and other business with
which they might be entrusted. (Hear, hear.) lle re-
joiced to thick that on the present cccasion it had not
been *considered necessary to make the question ef
choice of Speaker the test of party feeling. Such bad
occurred before ; but it was to him a matter of extreme
gratification to find that no party considerations called
upon him on this occasion to surrender those feelings of
private friendship and personal regard which he enter-
tained for the Right Hon. Gentleman. He was sure that
all those who had witnessed his condnct in the
chair would agree that his ueitorm conduct in his
high position had more than proved the wisdom
14f the choice made by the House in the year
1839, confirmed ati it had been on two subsequent occa-
sions by the unanimous approval of tho House. He
trailed that the House would now agree with an equal
rhgree of equanimity, and place his Right Hon. Friend
for toe fourth time iu the chair without a di.,sentient
) He thought that by so dhing they
is )tight lion. Fsieed the only restart'
'sever to offer, for the eminent services)
ee nest already reudered to the House and which,
ho vacs convinc el, he would continue to render with
aerial zeal end ability, only, perhaps, with more affici-
of his increased and mature ex
soy 'ttrthvr preface, he then rooted
that skit) Right Show Lefevre be elected Speaker of
fleuee (Laud cheers.)
Lord R. GROSVENOR seconded the motion. As
the Il.;ght fen. Gentleman had formerly belonged to the
party which sat upon this side of the House it, no doubt,
INcut3 be more agreeable to him, and more pleasing,
that that unanimity which was so desirable should seem
to prevail in his election t,) the highest office in that
Hence, and that one nt least of his nominators should
be a member of her Majesty's Opposition. (Cheers.)
Ile could have wished that some one more qualified
then himself bed been selected to give weight to the
opinion entertained of the Right lion. Gentleman on
that side of the House, of the qualities of the Right
Hain. Gt ntleman. lie, however, had been selected as
an unofficial organ of that party, because as it was,
perhaps, well known, it was not usual for a Member
holding high office, or who had held high office, to pro-
pow a candidate for the chair. It gave him, however,
great satisfaction to have this public opportunity a fihrded
him of bearing witness to the manner in which Mr.
Show Lcfevre had performed the arduous duties of
that etatlon, and he was quite sure that ho was
itiving utterance, not only to toe own opinion, but to the
ereatiments of every gentleman on that aide of the
Tiothie' whewhetshem(' that not only were they proud of his
Right Hon. Friend as havine sprung from that party of
they were members, but also entirely rutting aside
all peaty feeling—that they were more proud of him as
r member of that legislature to which they all belonged.
(Ciseers ) The merits of the Right Hon. Gentleman
were so well known, not only to the members of that
Haute, but a!so to the public at lerge, that it would be
a work of supererogation to dilate upon them at any
length ; end certainly, upon this occasion, it would be
extremely unnecessary, after the good taste and good
feeling evinced by the Hon. Member for I3erkshire,
in
propo.ing the Right Hon. Gentleman. Before sitting
down, however, he would take leave to make one
remark, which he hoped would bo found not quite
foreign to she subject. It was said to be one of the in-
firedsies of human nature to give undue prominence to
events passing around us at the present moment,
and if we cast our eyes around, it would be
acknowledged that, if there ever was a time when it
was necessary that the Imperial Legislature now sum-
moned should be presided over by a person of undoubted
cbility and talent, it was the present. At a time when
the liberties of Europe. when the right of full and open
clisciaLsion, and the right of public opinion hung by a
thread—at a moment of this sort he was sure that it
would be acknowledged that the character of that House
was deeply involved by the manner in
.which its pro-
ceediugs would be carried on. It became us then to
set with unusual calmness, to take the utmost care that
that liberty of free thought and free assertion which we
so happily enjoyed should not be abused for any per-
tonal party or factious purposes, but that we should
guard that right committed to us, he might say with-
out any exaggeration for the benefit of mankind at
Ilarge,_rge- It this were the position of affairs, as he
tw"?eght ho could gather, it was from the assent with
thucicht hie remarks had been received by a portion of
,r„e'ioeses assuredly it was a matter of the greatest
"3' that they should have over them a gentleman
whose nice discernment, discriminating judgment,
large
cez,,e.e,rtattearied experience, and whose inde-
-74., an. ttention so eminently qualify him for
e'r"elkPtaQitig aside period like the present, in which,
wiLeh he had allu(Zeau tither disturbances but those to
the
tits would resider thait nicely-balanced state of tomt-
it
was
most cffice one of very great difficulty,
attention
!thinly.
he'd one of necessarythat„peri„..conn the House should have at its
longer upon the He would not tres-
passconclude by secor,cling the of the House, hut would
Gentleman the Member for
V be that the Right non, motion which he understood
individual Hampshire Wilf; the most pre
gansde,ries of years,
clieir; being a man who, for alPOnr to fill that
meintaieing to the utmost the while
anfl dignity of that House, had conPeeinrd'ec, honour,
won. rtspeet, and esteem of ever membeiartoetd the good-
and ei every party of that House. (Loud eht,er:ry
At ter pause of a few moments there being nvac:.)„ign
cf
opposition to the, motion,
Sir IL IN GLS said, that be
.rose net Fee much
to
congratulate his Right Hon. Friend, but far more to
g)USA upon having person of so 'are
cueeratulato thee eao
; see to flit the Cnair. It would
ant per ik'llee rot)
werd as to the personal fit •
needless to ads! a sing." w__ ,,mess of
the laget Hon. Gentleman, —but it was not unfit, nor
unnecessary perhaps to r( Cl.ll to the recolleetionwhat of some
to others, a ver3
and to take the liberty of suiting
and labour were here
r compared to former
and that labour had
fully, most actively, most
ice by the Right Honour-
& hundred years nee, not
which now devolved. upon
,ceupant OF that chair. A
1 but three debates, and
year
;he e4ectitien of 1113 duties
there had been 242

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