Amendment proposed, to omit from the proposed Amendment the words " from the provisions of this Act." — (Mr. Warton.) Question proposed, "That the words Question proposed, "That the words proposed to be left out stand part of the Amendment." THE ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR IRELAND (Mr. LAW) thought the adoption of the Amendment of the hon. and learned Member for Bridport (Mr. Warton) might have the effect of introducing an unnecessary ambiguity. MR. WARTON said, he certainly did not agree with the right hon. and learned Attorney General. MR. GIBSON thought it would be better to defer the consideration of the proposal of his hon. and learned Friend (Mr. Warton) until they came to the exceptions at the end of the Bill. If the matter had not by that time been made quite clear, it could be further considered. Amendment to proposed Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. Original Question put, and agreed to. THE CHAIRMAN: The next Amendment in order is in the name of Mr. Ramsay. MR. RAMSAY said, he understood that the Prime Minister intended to report Progress at 12 o'clock; and as that hour had almost been reached, and the Amendment he (Mr. Ramsay) intended to propose would require a lengthened explanation, he would move to report Progress. MR. HEALY understood that the Government had accepted the Amendment of his hon. Friend the Member for Roscommon (Dr. Commins). He thought they ought to go a step further, and include the ordinary tenancies under the Act. The ordinary tenants, as the Bill was now drawn, did not get a single bit of benefit from it, and he saw no reason why they should be restricted. He had himself an Amendment to move, the object of which was to apply this clause, subject to any such conditions as were in the Act declared to be statutory conditions. His point was, that if they only accepted the hon. Member for Roscommon's Amendment they would still exclude tenants who were under ordinary conditions. If the Bill stood as it was drawn, ordinary tenants would get no benefit from it; but it would take away the few benefits from them which they now possessed. SIR H. DRUMMOND WOLFF asked if the noble Lord the Secretary to the Treasury intended to proceed that night with his Motion in regard to the Business of the House? LORD FREDERICK CAVENDISH said, he did not, if it was likely to lead to any discussion. SIR H. DRUMMOND WOLFF said, he should oppose the Motion for reporting Progress, unless the noble Lord gave Motion made and Question proposed, a pledge that he would not bring the "That the Chairman do report Pro-Motion on at that hour of the morning. gress, and ask leave to sit again."(Mr. Ramsay.) MR. GLADSTONE said, the time at the disposal of the Committee had been so dreadfully cut into in the early part of the evening that he was in hopes his hon. Friend would not have taken off another slice at the end of the evening. If his hon. Friend would kindly state his case before the Committee reported Progress it might be useful. MR. GIBSON thought the Amendment of the hon. Member for Falkirk (Mr. Ramsay) was capable of being moved in a very short time and in a very few sentences; but it must necessarily lead to some discussion. It was simply playing with the House to attempt to subvert the ordinary Rules of the House at that hour of the night. THE CHAIRMAN: That is a question which is not at present before the House. SIR H. DRUMMOND WOLFF intimated that he should challenge the Motion for reporting Progress. LORD RANDOLPH CHURCHILL wished to point out, with all respect, that the question of reporting Progress had a great deal to do with the Business that was to be taken afterwards. It was understood that Progress was to be reported at 12 o'clock, because the Prime Minister was anxious to ask for a Vote of Credit; but it was not understood that they were to report Progress to enable the Government to bring on the question of going into Committee of Supply on Mondays compulsorily without an opportunity being afforded for discussing any previous Motion. LORD FREDERICK CAVENDISH said, the noble Lord need be under no alarm; he would not proceed with the Motion of which he had given Notice. Question put, and agreed to. Treasury, including Parliamentary Counsel ments Home Office and Subordinate Depart- Privy Council Office and Subordinate Board of Trade and Subordinate Departments Charity Commission (including Endowed Schools Department) Civil Service Commission Committee report Progress; to sit again Copyhold, Inclosure, and Tithe ComTo-morrow, at Two of the clock. mission 10,000 15,000 12,000 13,000 10,000 500 20,000 5,000 4,000 3,000 Inclosure and Drainage Acts Expenses Exchequer and Audit Department 2,000 15,000 1,000 Friendly Societies, Registry Local Government Board Mint (including Coinage) Patent Office Registrar General's Office (including Stationery and Printing SIR H. DRUMMOND WOLFF wished | mittee went over to the Report. If that to put a Question to the right hon. Gen- were so in the present case, he should tleman the Prime Minister in reference include the stage of Report in the exto the order of Business. There were pression he had used. several Bills put down constantly which he did not believe the Government had any intention of bringing on; but the fact that they were down on the Paper gave a great deal of trouble to hon. Members. For instance, there were the Parliamentary Elections Bill and the Parliamentary Oaths Bill. He did not think the Government ought to put down Bills of such importance unless they intended to bring them on. Night after night he saw the Parliamentary Oaths Bill on the Paper. There was no necessity for this, as there could be very little intention on the part of the Government of proceeding with it at once, and he was certain the right hon. Gentleman had no wish to carry it forward in an underhand way. THE CHAIRMAN: Questions relating to the Orders of the Day can only be asked in the House, and not in Committee of Supply. SIR H. DRUMMOND WOLFF would, under these circumstances, move to report Progress, so that he might be able to put this Question. THE CHAIRMAN: That would still be an irregular course. The Question which the hon. Member proposes to ask can only be put in the House with the Speaker in the Chair. MR. T. COLLINS said, they could not have the Speaker in the Chair unless they reported Progress; and as it was desirable that they should report Progress, in order to have the Speaker in the Chair, he would second the Motion for reporting Progress. Motion made, and Question proposed, "That the Chairman do report Progress, and ask leave to sit again."-(Sir H. Drummond Wolf.) MR. A. J. BALFOUR said, he did not understand one of the phrases made use of by the Prime Minister. The right hon. Gentleman said that Supply would be taken when "the bulk of our work on the Land Bill was concluded;" but he had not made it clear whether he referred to the work in Committee, or to the work which the House would have to do on the third reading. MR. GLADSTONE said, in some cases work strictly analagous to work in Com MR. GORST asked if the Prime Minister could give the House any prospect of a discussion on the state of affairs in the Transvaal? A great deal of reticence had been exercised in connection with this subject in order not to cause the Government embarrassment in the position in which they were placed; but the right hon. Gentleman would be conscious that the state of affairs in the Transvaal were extremely serious, and that many hon. Members who desired to see the undertakings of the Government carried out were very anxious with regard to the Transvaal question. He trusted the Government would appoint an early day for the discussion of the Motion which stood upon the Paper. MR. GLADSTONE said, the answer he had given to the right hon. Baronet (Sir Michael Hicks-Beach) was that Her Majesty's Government could not appoint a day for discussion on his Motion until the labours of the Commission were completed. A telegram had been received that day, stating that the work of the Commission had begun, and he presumed, when it was completed, the right hon. Baronet would renew his application to the Government. The answer to that application would depend on one consideration. The desire of Her Majesty's Government was that the discussion should be taken as soon as it could be proceeded with without detriment to the Public Service; but their decision must be founded on the actual progress of the Commission in its work. CAPTAIN AYLMER understood that the Estimates would be postponed to the end of the Session, when most hon. Members were out of town. He had given a great deal of attention to the various items of Supply last year, and had frequently addressed the Committee when scarcely 40 Members were present in the House, owing to the Estimates having been introduced at so late a period of the Session. There could be no doubt that the postponement of Supply to the last days of the Session was most injurious to the interests of the Public Service. EARL PERCY said, as Supply was the special work of the House of Commons, it was very important that the Votes should be fully discussed. Al- surd-that before two months of the though it was disagreeable to those who financial year had expired the War had no right to speak with authority on Office could require nearly one-half of the course of Business to mention the the whole amount of the Military Estisubject, yet he thought hon. Members mates for the year. Yet, upon that rehad a right to know whether, in the presentation of the right hon. Gentleman, opinion of the occupants of both Front the Committee was induced to vote a Benches, the course proposed to be fol- sum which made up a total of nearly lowed in the case of the Civil Service £8,000,000 on account of the Army Estimates was for the interest of the Estimates. He (Mr. Arthur O'Connor) country. Was it for the interest of the and one or two hon. Members opposed Public Service that a second Vote should this Vote upon the principle that it was be taken on account, and that all consi- unfair to the country and the House of deration of the Estimates should be rele- | Commons to bring forward as matters of gated to a period when there could be urgency Votes on Account which at that no possible opportunity for full discus- time of the financial year could not pos sion ? sibly be required. He should to the utmost of his power always oppose the MR. ONSLOW asked, whether the Prime Minister would appoint a Morn-voting of public money in this manner. ing Sitting on an early day for the consideration of the Indian Budget? He also wished to know whether the Parliamentary Oaths Bill was intended to be postponed until after the third reading, or when the Report of the Irish Land Bill was taken ? MR. ARTHUR O'CONNOR hoped the Prime Minister would give a satisfactory answer as to the course of Public Business to hon. Members who had just spoken above the Gangway. He considered the conduct of the Government with regard to Supply was deserving of severe animadversion. On Friday night last, the Government waited until 1 o'clock in the morning, and then, having two Notices on the Paper with regard to Supply-namely, the 1st and 2nd Classes of the Civil Service Estimates and the 10th Vote of the Army Estimatesthe noble Lord the Financial Secretary to the Treasury intimated that it was a great deal too late to agree to the Civil Service Estimates at that hour. Now, these two classes, in their entirety, did not amount to so large a sum as the single Army Vote, which was for £3.500,000. This latter sum was voted when there were scarcely 40 Members present, although it seemed to provide for almost all the Military Administration, and amounted to nearly one-third of the total Effective Vote for the Army Service. The right hon. Gentleman the Secretary of State for War told the Committee that it was absolutely necessary that the sum should be voted at But it must be palpable to anyone acquainted with the facts of the case that such a representation was ab once. Earl Percy On the present occasion, therefore, he should ask Her Majesty's Government to give the House an assurance that they would not do what had so often been done before-namely, put off the Committee of Supply to the end of the Session, when nothing like serious discussion or examination of the Estimates would be practicable. He remembered the Prime Minister admitting, in his place, that he would be very glad to see the Estimates thoroughly canvassed, and that he did not think they had always received the attention which they deserved. It was perfectly useless to make observations of that kind if he so managed the Public Business that these Votes should not be brought before the House until the Session was nearly at an end. For these reasons, he joined the hon. and gallant Member for Maidstone (Captain Aylmer) in the representations he had made. SIR R. ASSHETON CROSS said, the Prime Minister stated, at the beginning of the Session, that he proposed to take a Vote on Account for three months; but, upon his offering opposition to the Motion, the right hon. Gentleman consented to reduce the amount asked for to two months' Supply. At the same time, the right hon. Gentleman stated that in consequence of the pressure of Business, owing to the long debates on the Protection of Person and Property (Ireland) Bill and the Arms Bill, he would very likely have to ask the House to give another Vote on Account before he went into Committee of Supply. This Vote of two months' Supply was readily granted, and it was also understood that, under peculiar cir |