P4IR.L1AIMENTARY STATISTICS: THE TIME-TABLE.

ldnplizotherton, htt.his capacity of honorary time-keeper of the:House-of 'Coromeeponotresiemilisessionfoiareinfn of the number of days the House, sat, the length of the sittings, particularizing the "number of hours spent -after gnitlaighS; ensirothee sletailietif Minor interest. return for the session 'of 1841 has recently appeared. The number of deye,whenthe Hese* sat was '121, the number of hours occupied 9581-, andsaf theee. 7,61 Were 'spent' after 'midnight. The average. length, of each sitting is put down at 7 hours 5-51 minutes. . This return is not quite so exaet ash might have been. It overstates the time' en .pied by 251 hours; * lapse which took place hetween the noon sittitt in_91 the ,evening sittiege when-the House-Worked "double tides' in Jult,',. 00:dug taken into account. Aceerdhig-- to the return, the extra sitti5,pring that period extended from noon till the adjournment on- the follo pg,inorning:' hut. infect they, did not—the lapse between them ave- raged,wo hours. . There was a 'distinction in the kind. of business trans- actedolitinusters endeavouring to reconcile Members to the double attend- ance sbrallettieg to their Motions and bills a fair share of the sittings,— thus wieitni-them as much time as they sreolcl have had if the House had sat irtitti ttSual-way 'for a fortnight longer. ...There were two sittings on . one day in June, and tWo on thirtecu4ays in July : bete the return is at fault, The EiectaLr preserved the distinction, -in its Parliamentary index to the busineSs trensactn4 pn,pneh day pit:also-stated the hour of meeting if it dif- fered from the ordinary hour, and wound up with the hour of adjournment.

Thghe _is - tte , return: of.' the. workihg- hours of - the Upper House. Their Lordships. gienno official notice of the hoer at which they adjourn; and, for reesons, not rstatect,-the reporters either avoid mentioning the hour of adjournnientose do it so loosely' that no reliance can be placed rupon the statementl ,•,-fiall the 'desideratum not been supplied in the Spectator, the recorded titsetiteSsino Wonld have been lost; :and the meats of comparing the duiiitioril!'?-tM A.4.4.Zs of thq,..tvici branches of the Legislature, whether daily, iiM ' `-' v ' ' Ofiliy,,woeifi:not have existed. •

els

T th° .T94111-6.fer the Commode as we fled it, the following is the op. ,thestdiresilouses as regards the'etithber of sittings and the time. .8 01 be.104id os ..•.:vniii. ----- 121 . 958. Average Duration.

7 b. 55 m. flours.

ThW . „10, 4 ii at eels e.,, . .

nays. •

l..-,

OF4as,

Tlit of•ere....O.o......... ,.. 'Ai— .-,:.....,;,.. "857i 2 h. 44 en. ' rw li L',I Lii—ailtiii1.. 10 :SIti-f. Diff44"14,04iet .. '10 feel h:01 e4ii..; -1,,,..- • 111, ARUM . ,..:1,122, ..4:4'.,,•Al..g• 101

} .. • '•- • - ,, -

Thistlifferenoe is-,nioreleSpa,rent'tbian rfii,te,M. to practicatbesiness hi Coneernifi:' Tlie'Co Mons evotAeimeer.ly half Men. time to the disesissiou of what may beirefiley,ifieriritiCque.anises,-,-tilat is to say, Members' motions, together withplOod deliel. what,00notrres I'l - 7-

.. .

5 h. 11h_ to.

: J

ar,tss the tireadiavoted

hers' WI& The Lords make no such -distinction: they -profess to beor practicslAnied, aud.lsonseway or -other they contrive to get through as much work-in the bill way as the Commons. But there are several other points Worth looking at le connexion with-the Cornmonetimestable; mid tb bring them out, iet the return be viewed in its- monthly aspect, and lie' the number of bills latroduced by Ministers

each month be placed jajtAtepeaitien. .sres,

' Nunilier dr ' tnistcrlsk

April 15

blay 19 1324'5161 11

Juue 21 170 22 July 28 2281 30 August 121 1

• 7 h. 55i en. 958,4, In estimating the fervour of theitettip Ipplathin*must beitorne in mind that an 'artist of bill busMess. wangeouroulitinmcfrom nackh to melee. Ofrinhtiifir bills, 55 *4,440,.4ipposed .0ei soytibrs!?ndependent. here' 'hills, 39- apd of the hills, which had "644iditel'Ilie Lords, is,

qt one fact steeds out., thet.the averageotehttll, ltungs in tip

tie of 1849 does not exceed leightl'heit. etir, Res that hise liAcE. " Atteridance-acooutts"? "IF cillithe,ke,,yegards the als. seeteete , for the hours of attired' °Wei sq, g‘pereolate as to be pleaded in extenuation. To-4h , Iste: houraAesretiotbing to do with the question, suffice it to say, that a thi nine rhymer* at which more thaii 400 Members were present, seven took place after midnight:4E1111:6 the satisfaction of those who think it unseen:dr:that Mena ea the Legislature should be wandering homewards loog' alter re it may be stated, that of the 219 divisions whleb occurred 444 the session, 173 ,took .place before twelve o'clock:'.' „iss to Cetus

mittees—those slaughter-rooms for delicate MN er does the questiop of.attendance stand as regards theist? Aeon Patten be

the witness. In March last, Mr. Fatten move and the motion was agreed to, That if at any time during the sittinked Select-Committee, the quorum of Members fixed by the Hew* sle414iotibe,present, the Clerk of Committee shall call the attention of the Chairman teethe fact; who shall thereupon suspend the Proceedings of the- Committee until a ,quorum he present, or adjourn the Committee to -soma future' day." This does not look-as if the rush to the Committee-rooms-differed meth from the rush to the-House; and when it is recollected that the Connnittee-qeorum is five (sometimes three,) while the number of members iikenerally fifteen, it will be allowed that the relative position of the lesser and the greater light, RS re- gards the right to " scold," savours a good deal of the pot and the kettle. Mr. Wilson Patten has succeeded in applying the rule to Committees which the Spectator recommends to he practised in the House as the first step towards internal reform; and the presumption is that Mr. -Ewart's forthcoming motion, that the name of the Member who moves the "count" shall be published with the Votes, will prove helpful towards the object. Under existing circumstances, the counting-out process is placed under a kind of ban, because the motive is deemed to be objectionable; but let the ob- ject be national, and declared to be so by the Member who has the courage to enforce the rule, and consequences will follow which will soon achieve for the mot a character to be proud of. As matters stand, a count.out is resorted to, not for the purpose if securing a better attendance and the more careful consideration of a sublet*, but as the means of getting rid of a foolish question, sometimee ofa troublesome one, some- times to mark the estimation ie which the mover is personally or politically held, sometimes to give a night's liherty to the reporters. Some gentlemen of the press are old enough to recollect an Irish Member who used to lay hinnelf out for conferring little favours on the last-Mentioned class. He- did not attend very regularly himself; but a note tiatialtii reach him when the House was dismally thin. He was punctual to th§,*I; but sometimes the journey was not immediately- available, the lioneurahle Member send- ing for answer, that he was sorry he could not countsont jest yet, as the question under discussion was an Irish one but that he would remain with , pleasure till it was over, and then he would set all at liberty for the evening. sf • v■711.

8h. 24 ca.

4011.