The discussion of the New Procedure Rules was resumed in
the House of Commons on Monday afternoon, those regulating Supply being first dealt with. Mr. Chan- fling's amendment to eliminate from the rule the auto- matic Closure at the end of the allotted days met with some support, but was rejected by 221 to 158. On the question that the rule as amended should be adopted, Sir Henry Fowler made an appeal to Mr. Balfour to formulate some definite system for the allocation of Supply. What they wanted was a time-table, which he believed Mr. Balfour might be fully trusted to draw up himself. To this Mr. Balfour rejoined that Sir Henry forgot that though the Leader of the House had power to say when the discussion of a subject should begin, he had no power to say when it should end. He had nothing new to say on the rule, and he declared that it would be something of a Parliamentary scandal if the House could not within the next few days finish the block of rules on which it was engaged. After the rule had been carried by 222 to 138, Mr. Balfour moved the Question Rule, which provides that on days when there are two sittings questions shall be taken at 2.15, and that those which are not disposed of by 2.55 shall not be answered orally. This rule, Mr. Balfour explained, he had redrafted in order to meet the wishes of the House, and in refusing to accept the amend- ments proposed by Mr. Galloway and Mr. Gibson Bowles making the length of question-time depend on the amount of private business, Mr. Balfour laid stress on the paramount necessity of making public business begin at a fixed hour, no matter what the private business might be. A further dis- cussion, initiated by Mr. Fuller and Mr. T. P. O'Connor, as to the inexpediency of limiting question-time to three-quarters of an hour, was carried on till midnight, when the House adjourned, Mr. Balfour having given notice of the suspension of the 12 o'clock rule on the following night.
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