Parliament's Business
The Government's proposal for a Select Committee on Procedure in the House of Commons would have raised few questions but for statements made by various Ministers before the election about overhauling the Parliamentary machine, securing blank cheques in the shape of Enabling Bills, and making enactments under Orders in CAnincil with a minimum of Parliamentary discussion or none at all. In such circumstances, it is not surprising that Mr. Churchill slityuld have displayed some anxiety about the Government's inten- tions. Mr. Morrison, however, met most objections by stating cate- gorically that the proposals the Government intended to put before the
Committee would be virtually identical with those drafted by the Coalition Government before it went out of office. Those proposals were never made public, but Mr. Churchill, who naturally knew what they were, seemed satisfied with Mr. Morrison's assurance. The case for the appointment of a Select Committee is, of course, strong. The House of Commons has a heavy programme of legislation before it, and an unusually large number of new Members seem likely to want to contribute to the discussions. Not too much importance should be attributed to that ; it is common enough to fail to catch the Speaker's eye ; but any serious curtailment of debate in the House would be a disastrous blow at the very foundations of democratic government. There are members of the Committee who can be trusted to keep that consideration to the fore. And the Government's proposals will soon be made available for public discussion, for the day-to-day evidence before the Committee is to be published.
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