Star.
London, England, 1826-11-15 00:00:00

HOUSE OF COMMONS.

At twelve o'clock the Lord Steward entered the long
gallery adjoining the lobby of the House of Lords, and
alter taking the oath of office, which was administered
by the proper officer, proceeded to swear in, according
to the usual form, the Members who were in attendance
to serve in the new Parliament, among whom were the
principal Members of the Government, as well as those
who generally. sit upon the Opposition benches.
Soon titer one o'clock above 150 Members were
sworn in, the gre ter part of whom immediately took
their seats in the House of Commons ; the Membersier
the City of London wearing their civic gowns, and sit-
ting at the bead of the Treasury Bench, according to tbe
custom prescribed at the opening of a new Parhainent.
At ten minutes past two o'clock the House was sum-
moned by the Deputy Usher of the Black Rod to repair
to the House of Lords, for the purpose of bearing ;
commission read by the Lords Commissioners appointed
by his Majesty.
Tbo How obeyed the summons of the Black Rod, and reaunedi
after an absence of a quarter of an lioulr—Oas Lards' lie Port) vibes
Mr. S PURGES BOURNB, rose to propose the'new
Speaker. It became the duty BOURN
House, immediately
after the recommendation which they had just received
elsewhere, to proceed to select one of their Members to
fill the high and important office of Speaker.' In var
luring to put in nomination a 'Gentleman for such an
office, be begged to assure the House, tbat were the
task one in which it would be necessary for him to
compare and enforce conflicting and undefined merits,
'l4 wquhl belie. lest, person to intrude himself upon
their notice on such an occasion as the present. But
the proposition which he had now tollpake, referred to
one which had already been the object of their choice
—a choice, the (wisdom of which bad been confirmed
again and again by their subsequent experience—(Hear,
hear). In order to appreciate the value and advantage
of baring such a man as he had referred to for their
Speiker, it was only necessary to reflect for a moment
upon 1.:,e importance of that high situation. It was not
talents, however great, nor the ordinary acquirements
of the best education, which, in themselves, constituted
the qualities most fitted for a Speaker of the House of
Commons. To fill that high office as it had and ought
to be filled, required a profound, and accurate, and de-
tailed knowledge of the Constitution ; the law and
usage[ of Parliament; a thorough acquaintance with
the forms, the rules, and regulations provided for the
due arrangement and dispatch of business, which
could not be obtained without a patient, laborious,
and persevering application, which it did not fall to
the lot of many to be capable of requiring.—During
their debates it was-the task of the Speaker to regulate
the order of their proceedings—to express, in suitable
terms, on the different occasions which necessarily and
coostarnle arise, their approbation or their censure, as'
circumstances should require. This was a branch of
duty which required sound and enlightened principles,
substantial judgment. Ind great firmness and dign ty
need be and how thoroughlt possessed of salt these
qualities was the Right Hon. Gentleman who was now
again about to be introduced to their notice?—(Hear)
:These more' ostensible attributes u ere not the only ones
,which their Speaker would have to exercise. He would
have to regulate their proceedings in all cases of ensergen-
cp—to uphold their dignity, to repress Unite sud...ett reel
ingi which sometimes arose out of the exuberancy of de-
bate, and to mark with calm and strict attention all the
cccnrrences, which attend fatiguing and protracted ois-
cussions. He might appeal to the Get:Cullen w ho corn

posed the last Parliament, whither all time qualidis were,
not found in the last Speaker, and whether they bad ant
Inivery individual case, in which reference bad beck
abide to bins, received the most marked and courteous
consideration—(Hoer, heir.) There were, besides these,
the subordinate points, and other minor recommend*:
tions essential for the office, and which no man possessed
in a more eminent degree than the Right Hon. Gent.
to whom he alluded. His manners were uniformly
courteous, his conduct was always §rin and dignified.-
(Hear, hear). To judge, in fact, of the importance of
the office of Speaker—he meant the real personal ini-
portance—tbey had only to appeal to the constitution of
Parliament itself. If illness visited him, the public
, business was immediately and necessarily suspended, in-
stead of permitting his place to be delegated to another.
Could he had a stronger instance of the personal
im-
portance constitutionally attached to the functions which
he had to exercise? It was hardly necessary to remind
the House how the late Speaker had always maintained
their rights and privileges, which were as essential fo'r
the maintenance of their existence as a branch of the
legislature, as they were firr upholding also the rights
and privileges of the periple—(Hear, hear). He was
quite confident, indeed, that their vote would on the
present occasion be unanimous ; and that when they placed the
Right Hon. Gentleman in their Chair. the House would give him
their full and cordial authority and support...(Heer). Without
farther trespassing upon their attention in enforcing the merits of a
man which were recorded by three successive Parliaments, he
should move that the Right Hon.Charleoblapners Sutton be elected
their Speaker in the present Parliament.--.(Hear).
Mr. PORTMAN rose for the purpose of seconding
the motion, and said, that although be felt unable to do
justice to this subject, upon which he saw that the House
was unanimous, yetes he believed that it was customary
for the proposer and seconder to state the reasons upon
which they acted, he had risen to address the House.
It would be useless for him to remind those who had
sat in that House before, or to impress' upon the
minds of those who had not, what every English Gen-
tleman must and ought to know—the arduous nature
of the duties which devolved upon a Speaker of the
House of Commons, and the qualifications which
must of necessity be possessed by Gentlemen selected
to fill that Chair. But he must be permitted to re-
, mind the House, that not Qtly were great talents,
pure integrity, and impartiality, necessary qualities
for that office, but that there were also expected from
him the rarer qualities of temper not to be railed,
firmness not to be shaken, and, above all, the main-
tetiance of the rights and liberties of the Commons
of England, and the preservation of order and de-
cency in their proceedings. In an assembly like that;
full of talent and splendid abilities, it would be arrogant'
in him to point out any Member, and say, that be was
better qualified for the office than another ; and he should
be the last person to put himself forward on this occa-
sion, if be were not able to congratulate the House that
they would be guided in their choice by the finger of
experience. which pointed out the Right Hon. Member.
who had for so many years filled the Chair, as the fittest
person to re-assume the office. He had already tres-
passed too long upon the time of the House, and con-
vinced as he was, that nothing be could say could in-
Seem. their declaim:, he would only apologige for engaging tam
se long, and conclude by seconding the moues, which be was sure
would he earned by unanimous acclamation. " That the Right
Hon. Charles Mennen Settee be elected Speaker of this Hesoer-
alle House."—(Cheers)..
The motion was then put and carried by acclamation:

The Right Hon. C. MANNERS SUTTON then rose
And said, that although he felt embarrassed and pained at
not being able to express in adequate terms his sense of
the honour which bad just been conferred upon him, he
was consoled by the belief that the House would give
him credit for feeling the deepest obligation and rad-
tude to them fir the choice which they bad made. To be '
elevated to that Chair in which they bad just resolved
to place bins had ever been the first object of his ambi-
tion, and as loos as health and strength remained to
him, it would.continue to be so. But he could assure
the House with the greatest truth and earnestness, that
since he had at first attained that dignity be bad la.
bound as strenuously as be was able to justify the choice,
they bad made by faithfully discharging his duty to
the.= and to the public. The testimony which they'
bad now given of being satisfied, as far as his poor
abilities were capable of satisfying them, was the best
!and proudest reward for his services that could be
bestowed upon him. His Right Honourable Friend
(Mr. S. B 'llene), and his Hon. Friend the Member for
Dorsethire (Mr. Portman), had described the difficulty
and importance of the duties which devolved upon the.
Speaker of that House, and his Hoc. Friends, in the'
glowing warmth of their friendship, had attributed to
him qualifications to which he feared he bad but a
slender claim. Upon the qualifications he possessed,
whatever they might be, he did not rely, but upon the
cordial support of the House ; and in the confident hope'
that their good opinion and cordial co-operation would
sustain him in this, as iu the three preceding Par-
liaments, he submitted himself respectfully to their
judgment and.decision. The Right Honourable Gen-I
tleman then quitted his seat on the Treasury Bench,'
and was conducted by the Proposer and Seconder of
the motion to the Chair. Having seated himself,
he again rose and said, he begged again respectfully
to acknowledge his thanks to the House for this re•
newel of their confidence. He assured the House that
they should always find him diligent, zealous, and ins-
partial in discharging the duties of the office with which
they had intrusted him. He was not arrogant enough]
to suppose that unassisted he could NM those duties; but with'
their assistance in correcting what was wrong, and in supporting
' what was right, be pledged the best emotions in his power to de-
serve and to obtain that approbation with which in Woe suc-
cess:Lee Parliaments they had honoured hint.—(Cheers),
Mr. C. W. WYNN said, that in rising to move the
adjournment of the House, it was impossible for him
not to express his congratulations to the House and to
the Speaker, on the choice which had just been made.
He congratulated the Speaker on having received the
highest possible teward for his past services in the ap-
probation which had been testified by the unanimous
acclamations of the House. He congratulated the
House that the arduous and laborious situation of
Speaker was filled by a Gentleman whose impartiality
had never been questioned even in periods of the most
stormy contest; whose patience, temper, and courtesy,
were tiny/called, and had been equally experienced by
every individual who had sate in the House. Upon
this subject he could dilate with the greatest pleasure to himself;
but it had bees already se well touched upon by the His. Mover
and Seconder et the motion which had been jam carried, that he
felt constrained to repress his feelings, and should therefore SOD.
tiude by moving that the Hour ea new adjourn."
The motion was then put, wilco

Sir JOSEPH YORKE rose and said, that he also
congratulated the Route on the choke which they hid
made, and hoped that in the appointment of all futon
officers, persons would be•f^un I of equal integrity with
the Right Hon. Speaks.