DIVISIONS IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS.
OUR Representatives acted like rational beings, aware of their real position and of their responsibility to constituents, when they sanctioned " the principle of publicity," by acceding to Mr. WARD s motion for a Committee to inquire into the best mode of securing an accurate and authentic account of the Divisions in the House of Commons. The arguments, or pretences rather, by which Mr. HARVEY'S motion was opposed last year, were so utterly contemp- tible, and so much at variance with the fundamental principles of a representative form of government, that they were scouted from one end of the country to the other. Some Members of the House are gifted with marvellous powers of countenance, but none ven- tured to give any decided opposition to the renewed proposition for publishing correct Division-lists. The Committee appointed on Air. "Waelis motion lost no time; and, atter a good deal of dis- cussion, agreed to the following. report.
" It appears to the Committee to be impossible to attain the object in view by any of the various plans which have been submitted to them for taking the divisions by a system of tickets or cards, with the names of the Members voting inscribed upon them. The difficulty of insuring that Members shall he pro- vided beforehand with these cards, so as to avoid confusion or delay when the division is about to take place, and the additional difficulty of vollecting these cards from the 3letobers present, when combined with the necessity of identi- fying the individual presenting the card, in order to prevent the passibility of one name being substituted for another, in,lo.-ed the (.....matitittee to reject all plans founded upon this basis, and to direct their inquiries into a different channel. " To can over the whole House, upon each division, and to enter the names of the Members present, would have occasioned a loss of time, which the Com- mittee did riot feel themselves justified in recommending. " It was suggested, indeed, that all 31embers entering the House should in- scribe their moues ill a 11(141k, on (Wit successive day of the session, and that the names thus inset died should alone be called over, in the event of a division ; but as no provision was suggested for (sea.s where a division of great importance was followed by a division of minor importance, and where the original list of :100 or 400 Menthe's berate applicable to a division of 50 ()flit) 3fetulters, the Committee felt that such a tegulation would he attended with much inconve- nience, and consequently could not adopt it.
" The scantiness of the acmmm(Idation afftarled by the present buildings of the Home prevcmed the Committee from .1feet-sting, as they would otherwise
have taco inclined tad°, that upon IWO y 1011, the Ayes at.d the Noes should he sent forth into two different lobbies, and the names of the afC111boa taken down simultaneously as they re-entered the !louse by opposite doors.
" The Committee beg, however, to state, that if the llouse should feel dis-
posed, at any future time, to build an addle al lobby in the vacant spare at the east cull of the Home, there is no plan which, ill their SO many recommendations as or iinglit Sii easily be carried into effect. "Under existing eirettoostane -s, and with a regard to existing loeidities, the Committee must content themselves with submitting to the 1 Itasse the following propositions. " 1. That in all divisions, both of the house nod in Committer, the presumed minority till directed to go forth into the 1010.y as at present, and all the remain- ing :Members to take their seats in thelsaly 111 the !louse.
" 2. That two tellers be appointed to stand on the flour of the House, accom- panied by two clerks. " That one of these clerks, commencing, as now, at the end of the kick bench, shall call aloud the name of each 3Iember in succession ; which shall be entered by the other clerk on a paper or pasteboard, with lines ruled and num- bered; the tellers counting as the clerks proceed, and communicating to the clerk the result.
" 4. That so soon as the Members within the House are counted, die tellers and clerks shall proceed to the lobby doors ; and that one clerk shall call, and the other take down, on similar paper, the name of each Member as lie conies into the House; the tellers counting and announcing the result as at present. " 5. That the lists thus taken lie brought up to the table by the tellers, and deposited there for iusertion iu Mc Votes.
" The Committee have aseertaitted, by experiment, that 80 names can be called over and entered in one minute, in short-hand ; but Mr. Joseph Gurney, on his examination, stated it to be his impression that a quick long-hand writer, with the help of such occasiotud abbreviations as practice would suggest, would take down the names very nearly as fast as he could, in short -hand, himself; and might, certainly, enter 25 names in a minute. The Committee will assume 20 names to be the maximum, and allow five minutes for each 100 names. In this case, a division of 400 31embers would occupy 20 minutes; which is very little snore than is required under the present system ; the average time consumed in counting 100 Members (taken on a mean of those who go out and those who re- main in the House), being from three to four minutes.
" Now, if the principle of publicity be worth any sacrifice at all, it is certainly worth so small a sacrifice as this; nor does the Committee believe that, under any conceivable system, a touch greater degree of expedition can be combined with that accuracy which it is su essential to insure, where the votes are pub- lished with the sanetion of the Speaker's name.
" The Committee do not anticipate any difficulty in finding clerks sufficiently well acquainted with the persons of Members to call the name of each member in successi.m, as proposed ; hut, in the very rare cases where such difficulty might occur, it would lie reamed instantly by the inter:Crence of the tellers, or of the Member himself."
"Under existing circumstances;'—'hat is, taking into account the want of room in the present very inconvenient House,—the plan of the Committee appears to be as good a one as can easily be formed. It would not be difficult to suggest others which would perhaps take up less time. But it should be remembered that the grand object is to furnish an accurate um! authentic list of the Di- visions. For this purpose, some outlay of time is necessary, and ought to 1);; cheerfully conceded. The Committee appear to have adopted the plan which they have agreed to recommend, only after much consideration; and until Lord ALTIIORP can find it in his heart to spare the money for another House, or at any rate for another Lobby, we shall be content to give It a fair trial. Mr. WARD should be prepared to move its adoption as soon us the House meets again.
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