The Sun.
London, England, 1846-01-27 00:00:00

SESSIONAL ORDERS.

Mr. CARDWELL then moved the new sessional order making
provision for the sittings of the House on Wednesdays. He did
not, he said, intend to persevere with the sixth resolution,
which was as follows :—" That if the House be not formed at a
quarter past twelve o'clock, Mr. Speaker do then take the
chair and count the House, and if forty Members be not then
present, or if, at any time during the sitting it should appear
that forty be not present, Mr. Speaker do adjourn the House to
the next day, unless the House shall have previously resolved to
adjourn, at its rising, to some other day."
Mr. COLLETT wished to know if the Committees, of which
there were likely to be a large number this session, were to sit
on a Wednesday, whether the House sat or not on that day
The parties who were interested in these Committees would
have a good deal to pay in the shape of expenses for witnesses,
&c., and it would be attended with great inconvenience, and of
course extra expenses to them, if the Committee did not sit on
a Wednesday. And yet, on the other hand, if the House
and the Committees sat at one and the same
time on Wednesdays, it would be personally incon-
vet lent to Honourable Members themselves, because they
would be at a loss which to attend, the Committee or the
House, but for his part he thought it would be pursuing au
unconstitutional course if both the House and the Committees
sat at the same time. Besides the present sessional order was
in direct opposition to a resolution which was passed on Friday.
which provided that when the Speaker went to prayers at the
opening the House, the fact should be announced to all the
Committees then sitting at the time, and all the proceedings
of the Committee after such notice were to become null and
void. We repeated then that it was unconstitutional to re-
quire the attendance of Honourable Members in two places at.
once—( Hear, hear, and laughter.) And at the risk of receiv-
ing a visit from the Sergeant-at-Arms, he for one should not
attend aliy Committee upon which he might happen to be ap-
pointed, when the House sat on a Wednesday, considering
that the lesser duty of attending on a Committee, merged into
the superior duty of attending the House—( Hear, hear.)
Mr. EDWARD CARDWELL said the order was
only an experiment, and if the Honourable Member
would only allow him to try it, he could assure the Honourable
Member that it should be abandoned if it was found to be at-
tended with inconvenience.—(Hear, hear.) With regard to
the latter objection of the Hon. Member, as to the sitting of a
Committee while the House was performing its superior func-
tions, that could easily be got over by leave being given by
the Speaker to each Committee to continue its labours while
the House was sitting.
Mr. COLLETT suggested that it often happened that a
Huuse could not be made on a Wednesday, 140 matter whether
the House met in the fore or afternoon, and then the House
was invariably adjourned within a quarter of an hour after the
Speaker had taken the chair. New, when leave was given to
a Committee to continue its proceedings during the sittings of
of the House, the leave only extended over such time as the
House remained sitting, and thus a Committee, as well as the
House, might meet and adjourn on a Wednesday within the
space of a quarter of an hour.
Mr. HUME thought the objection of the Honourable
Member was a fair one, and be hoped the Government would
say positively whether the Committees were to sit on a Wed-
nesday or not, and at once get rid of the difficulty.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER was understood
to reply, that Government wished that the Committees should
continue their labours as usual on a Wednesday.
Mr. HUME hoped then, that if any important measure
should be likely to come on on a Wednesday, in which Members
of any of the Committees were interested, the discussion of
those measures should be so arranged as to enable those Hon.
Members to be present.—( Hear, hear. )
The t esolution was then agreed to.
NAUTICAL

Sir CHARLES NAPIER moved for a return of the ex-
pense of taking the Amphion's bow down to put on Mr. White's
bow, and then taking down a part of Mr. White's bow to put
on another to enable her to point her main deck guns right
ahead.