Sir R. Baggallay stated last week that the Premier would
this week inform the House what Bills he intended to retain. The House therefore expected on Monday a huge slaughter of Bills, and the Times on Monday named the principal ones which would be abandoned. In the evening, however, Mr. Disraeli stated that it was intended to take, first, the Agricultural Holdings Bill, then the Merchant Shipping Bill,—since withdrawn,—and then the Land Transfer Bill and the Judicature Bill, which "will of course be passed." As to the other Bills, they were of great utility, and it would be premature to abandon them. The House, which understood perfectly well that all these Bills could never be passed, grew quite angry, and Lord Hartington told Mr. Disraeli that he had treated it with less than his usual courtesy. He read a long list of Bills which could not possibly be passed unless the House sat till the middle of August, and pressed for more information. Mr. Dillwyn intimated pretty clearly his suspicion that the Government intended to run their Bills through when the House was thin ; and Lord Harting- ton, through Mr. Forster, gave notice that he should renew the discussion when the motion for taking Tuesdays away from private Members came on, but Mr. Disraeli was immovable. He chaffed Mr. Whalley, who had intervened, as a possible lay brother of the Order of Jesus, but would only promise that if the House was very good he might possibly tell it something next week. The House was sulky, but submitted.
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