30 MARCH 1850, Page 11

STATE OF TEE PARLIAMENTARY BUSINESS AT F. A STM - T.

THE -Loam.

.3Iinisterial _Sills, and the Stage arrived at.

Read a third time and t sent to Commons Ecclesiastical Commissioners Ditto Railway Abandonment, Ditto Convict Prisons, Read a second time Trustee Act 1850, Ditto

Railway Audit, To Select Committee Non-Ministerial.

Bankruptcy Law Consolidation, Lord Brougham's ... Read .a first time Conveyance of Property Consolidation, Ditto, Ditto Criminal Law Consolidation, Ditto, Read a second time !fasters' Jurisdiction, Ditto, Ditto Removal of Obstructions Corn-trade, 1 Ditto, Reported Scotland, I Read a third Acts of Parliament Abbreviation; Ditto, t sent to Commons Audit of Railway Accounts, Lord Stanley's, To Select Committee Sunday Trading Prevention, Earl of Harrowby's,. Ditto Proceedings against Clergy, Bishop of London's,. Read a first time Administration of Justice (Ireland), Earl of Glengall's, .. Ditto Transfer of Land (Ireland), ...... Ditto, Ditto Foreign Chaplaincies, Earl Nelson's, Ditto Umpires Appointment, Lord Portman's, .... Withdrawn

Select Committees.

To consider the Operation of the Acts for the i Earl of Harrowby's

Sale of Beer,

To consider the best Means for finally Extin- Bishop of Oxford's

guishing the Slave-trade, ....... ...... .......

II. THE COMMONS. Ministerial Bills.

Party Processions (Ireland) Turnpike Road and Bridge Trusts (Ireland), Process and Practice (Ireland), Judgments (Ireland), Estates Leasing (Ireland), Parliamentary Voters (Ireland), Court of Chancery (Ireland), Elections (Ireland): to Shorten, Registration of Deeds (Ireland), Wages (Ireland): to prohibit Payment in Goods, Landlord and Tenant (Ireland) Distressed Unions Advances (Ireland) Medical Charities (Ireland), Registrar of Metropolitan l'ublic Carriages, Mutiny (Army), Mutiny (Marine), Consolidated Fund, County Cess (Ireland), Fisheries (Ireland). Tenements Recovery (Ireland) County-rates Financial Boards,

Small Tenements Ratite,

Larceny Summary Jurisdiction,— .... Factories : to Amend Ten Hours Clause, Life Assurance : to Make Policies As- signable, Benefices in Plurality Marriages, Tenants at Rack-rent Public Libraries and Museums, Affirmations, Real Property Conveyance, Fees (Court of Common Pleas), Titles of Religious Congregations, Real Property Transfer, Landlord and Tenant, Juvenile Offenders Secular Education,

County Court .Extension,,..,.

Railway Traffic, Highways (South Wales), Copyhold Enfranchisement, Vestry and Vestry Clerks Poor R.! elief (Cities and Towns)

Select Committees.

Prison Discipline Army and Ordnance Expenditure (reappointed) Ceylon Insurrection (reappointed) .. Public Libraries, Mr. Ewart's Postal Communication with Paris, Re., Mr. Mackinuon's Jews in Parliament : to Search for Precedents, Mr. P. Wood's

Fees in Courts of Law and Equity, Mr. Bouverie's

Registrar's Office Bankruptcy Commons Enclosure Pirates (Head Money) Repeal, School Districts Contribution, Chief Justices' Salaries, Brick-duties : to Repeal, Highways, Greenwich Hospital Improvement, Charitable Trusts, Stamp-duties Mercantile Marine .; Masters, ite.

Merchant Seamen's Fund : to Regulate, Ditto Merchant Shipping: to Regulate Ailnieasuremmit, Ditto Woods, Forests, Better Management, Ditto Ecclesiastical Commissioners (from the Lords),. Ditto Court of Session (Scotland) : to Facilitate Pro- Ditto eedure, Police and Improvement (Scotland), Ditto Public Health (Scotland), Ditto Registrars' Office Bankruptcy (from the Lords), To Select Committee Australian Colonies Government, In Committee

Non-Ministerial.

sent to the Lords Ditto Ditto Reported Ditto Read a second time Ditto Read a first time Ditto to improve Condition of Ditto Become law Ditto Reported Ditto Ditto In Committee Ditto Read a second time Ditto Read a first time Ditto Ditto Ditto Become law Ditto Ditto Ditto

IRead a third time and

Mr. Alonsell's Become law Mr. Anstey's Read a first time Mr. Frewen's, Ditto Mr. M. Gibson's, To Select Committee Mr. Halsey s, Reported Pities of Religious Congregations ) mr F m u/ , Read &third time and (Scotland), ) sent to the Lords Sir J. Palungton s, .. In Conunittee Mr. Frewen's, Mr. S. Wortley's, Mr. Sotheron's, Mr. Ewart's, Mr. P. Wood's Mr. Headlam's, Mr. Bouverie's, Mr. Peto's .

Mr. H. Drummond's, Mr. Pusey's Mr. M. .

Mr. W. J. Fox's, Mr. Fitzroy's, Mr. Ricardo's, Viscount Emlyn's, Mr. Aglionby's, Mr. P. Wood's, Mr. S. Adair's .

County Rates : to Relieve Occupiers,. Sir II. Halford's, Parish Constables, Mr. Dcedcs's, Highways (District Surveyors), Mr. Frewen's, Extramural Interments Mr, Lacy's . National Gallery (Edinburgh), Sir W. G. Craig's, Lord Asblry's,.. Mr. W. Fagan's, .., Read a second time

Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto' Ditto Ditto Ditto

Ditto Read a first time Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto

The number of bills introduced into the Commons by Ministers is thirty-four, and by private Members thirty-two ; in all sixty-six. Of these, seven have become law,—namely, the Irish Party Processions Bill, the Irish Turnpike Road and Bridge Musts Bill, the Irish County Cess Bill, the Registrar of Metropolitan Public Carriages Bill, the two Mutiny Bills, and the Consolidated Fund Bill ; thirty-one await the second reading ; twelve have been read a second time ; twelve have advanced beyond that point ; and four have been read a thirt1 time and sent to the Lords for concurrence. This bears a close approximation to the state of matters at Easter 1849. Mr. Moffatt reintroduced his Bankrupt and In- solvent Members Bill, but it was rejected on the second reading. In addition to the seven bills which have received the Royal As- sent, the Peers have passed four of the bills originated in their own House, and these will fall to be discussed by the Commons. In fa one of them—the Registrar's Office Bankruptcy Bill, introduced by the Chancellor—has been as good as shelved ; the Commons, instead of ac- cepting the bill, have referred the subject of which it treats to a Select Committee. This course involved a Ministerial defeat.

As regards the operations of individual Members in the House of Commons, business is in advance of what it was at the corresponding' period of last year. Mr. Slaney, who could not command an audience last session to listen to his proposal of an unpaid Commission to make ameliorative suggestions on the subject of the Working Classes, was heard to an end some weeks ago. Mr. Hume's field-day on the subject of the Representation is over—it did not occur last year till June; Mr. Henry Berkeley's Ballot motion is disposed of too ; and so is Mr. beery Drum- mond's Taxation motion. In these latter cases an advance of several months is shown. As regards Members' Bills, the prospect is improved; instead of devoting Thursday to the discussion of nMotions," that eveni.ing is to be devoted to the consideration of Bills, Ministers and Mem- bers taking alternate Thursdays till the middle of May.

The number of divisions which have taken place is fifty-nine ; being twelve fewer than the divisions of last session up to the same period. AS to the attendance, no improvement is exhibited. That there is ample room for amendment, will appear pretty clearly from the following eh,- street.

At 3 divisions more than 600 were absent.

15 divisions from 500 to 600 were absent. 22 divisions from 400 to 500 were absent. 14 divisions from 300 to 400 were absent.

3 divisions from 200 to 300 were absent.

2 divisions from 100 to 200 were absent.

If the number of hours devoted to the consideration of public business and questions is a test of efficiency, both branches exhibit an improvement as compared with 1849. In that year the session opened on the 1st of February ; and the adjournment for the Easter recess took place, in the ease of the Lords on the 3d April, and of the Commons on the 4th. This makes a difference of a week in favour of 1849. The following are the respective totals as supplied by the Spectator's Time-tables.

To Easter 1849—The Lords, 35 sittings : 53 hours : average hours. 1850—The Lords, 31 sittings : 70 hours : average 21 hours. To Easter 1849—The Commons, 45 sittings : 327 hours: average 71- hours. 1850—TheCommons, 39 sittings: 294 hours: average 7,4. ileum The Private Bill'department stands thus :

Total number of Bills

133 Read a first time 26

Read a second time 110

Read a third time 6

Withdrawn, lost, or not proceeded with 11

153 The usual industry has been displayed by individual Members in moving for Returns. The number, the variety of subject, the complex and in many instances curious character of the details asked for, lead to the conclusion that the public establishments must be kept in a high state of dficiency in order to answer such large demands. 47 Members moved for 1 Return = 47 24 Members moved for 2 Returns each = 48 9 Members moved for 3 Returns each = 27 6 Members moved for 4 Ramis each = 24 3 Members moved for 5 Returns each = 15 1 Member moved for 24 Returns = 24 90 Members. Total .... 185

The gentleman who moves for the twenty-four returns is Mr. Hume, His range of inquiry is as extensive as it can be, and defies all attempts- ' to guess at the objects, or to infer the idiosyncrasy of the individual with whose movements such calls for information are identified : nothing seems to be the small or too large for Mr. Hum's grasp. In most other cases the same analytic difficulty does not occur, the nature of the returns bear- , ing a similitude to the turn of mind of the mover. Thus, Sir Robert In- ' glis moves for a return of Ancient Heresies, of matters connected with the Arctic Expedition, and the Australian Bishops. Mr. Gladstone, his colleague, asks for information on the subject of Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction in Australia. Lord Ashley asks for Cholera returns ; Sir Thomas Acland, for bills of Mortality, and details connected with the Slave-trade ; Lord John Manners, for Tithe returns ; Mr. Newdegate, for a note of Foreign Tariffs ; Mr. William Miles, for Corn Importations ; Mr. Ilorsman, for papers elucidatoiy of the movements of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners ; Mr. Disraeli moved for one return, and it relates to the internal construe, lion of the Board of Trade. No Member makes use of fewer notes or papers of any kind than Mr. Disraeli : he seldom or never takes a note ; and during his great speeches a few crumpled up and apparently ill-assorted papers constitute his documentary stock. Mr. Hume, who occupies the corner of a bench, has invariably an extensive assortment of blue books, returns, and manuscript notes, ready for use. Other members who have not the convenience of a corner, make use of their hats ; and it not un- frequently happens that the chance of a "count-out" depends a good deal upon whether the preparation which the mover may have made in the way of blue books and papers is formidable-looking or not. Many failures, too, arise, especially in debAts, from the Member's not being able to put his hand upon the right paper, or from dropping the bundle through over-anxiety to be expeditious. Mr. Macgregor, the Member for Glasgow—one of the most voluminous statists of the day—has not yet been able to acquire the knack of using his papers in the House.

The number of returns moved for by any Member must convey an imper- fect idea of the extent of his demands, or the expense to be incurred in fulfilling them,—as imperfect as the idea must be which is formed of the bulk of a man's speeches from their mere number. Still, it is all which can be given unless the number of lines which enumerate what is wanted were taken as an assisting test. Yet that also would fail. An effectual check against such recklessness (and it is one which ought to be insisted for by economical Members) would be to print the cost of each return upon the back of it.