law to permit people to do that which they could now do voluntarily, or, on the other hand, the making of a law to compel people to make contracts. In the great speech which the right hon. Gentleman the Member for Mid Lothian (Mr. Gladstone) made in Leeds in 1881, he described the Land Bill of 1881, which afterwards became law, as a great innovation upon the principles of freedom of contract-one which could only be justified in the case of Ireland by the most exceptional circumstances. The right hon. Gentleman thought it so great a sacrifice in favour of the exceptional circumstances of Ireland, and an inno

precedent, that in a speech which he delivered after the Land Bill had become law he spoke of the time when the country might be able to revert to the old system of freedom of contract. What were the words he used? The right hon. Gentleman said-["Divide, divide!"] He (Mr. Kimber) begged to move that the debate be now adjourned.

suffered great loss? What was to be said | graph in Her Gracious Speech which of the merchant who had bought a ship-involved two such political absurdities load of merchandize to arrive, and then as, on the one hand, the making of a found there was no market in which to sell the goods? Was he to be relieved, or to be entitled to relieve himself, at the expense of the other parties to the contract? Where was this relief to end if they were to cancel the power which now existed, and had existed in this country practically for all time, to buy and sell in a free and open market? The moment they cancelled that power, that moment they would interfere seriously with liberty of action; they would accept a principle which, if carried to its full extent, would deprive the people and commerce of the country of everything that could be called by the name "free." What would be thought of any English-vation which was not to be treated as a man or Scotchman-he believed the case of the Sister Island was exceptional-who, having made a bargain, wished to back out of it when he found it working disadvantageously to himself? Was not the fulfilment of a bargain a matter of honour? A man who did not face adversity when it befell him was no longer a man. A man was only a man when he stood by the bargains he had made; and when once there was a general disposition to escape from the ill-effects of bargains it would be found that the prosperity of the country had departed. He did not at all wonder that the right hon. and learned Gentleman the late Lord Advocate (Mr. J. B. Balfour) should make a sort of apology for the Mover of the Amendment by telling the House that the hon. Gentleman the Member for Forfarshire (Mr. Barclay) did not mean to propose any particular law of a hardand-fast character, but that all he complained of was that Her Majesty's Government had not announced in the Queen's Speech their intention of introducing some measure of law to provide for these special conditions of tenure. He would like to know what would have been the result if they had all sat down together, and, as business men, attempted to frame a law such as the hon. Member for Forfarshire seemed to desire? How would they have described such a measure? He was not quite sure whether he would not have been entitled to have appealed to the Speaker whether, as a matter of Order, it was competent for Her Majesty's Government to advise Her Majesty to put a para. Mr. Kimber

the Debate be now adjourned,"—(Mr. Motion made, and Question, "That Kimber,)-put, and negatived.

Question put, "That those words be there inserted.'

The House divided:-Ayes 183; Noes 211: Majority 28.

AYES.

Abraham, W. (Glam.)
Abraham, W. (Lime-
rick, W.)

Allison, R. A.
Asher, A.
Arch, J.

Chamberlain, rt. hn. J.
Chamberlain, R.
Chance, P. A.

Channing, F. A.
Clancy, J. J.
Clark, G. B.

Cobbold, F. T.
Coleridge, hon. B.

Collings, J.

Commins, A.

Condon, T. J.

Compton, Lord W. G.

Conway, M.

Conybeare, C. A. V.

Connolly, L.

Balfour, rt. hon. J. B. Cobb, H. P.
Barbour, W. B.
Beith, G.
Blades, J. H.
Biggar, J. G.
Blaine, A.
Blake, T.
Bolton, J. C.
Bolton, T. H.
Borlase, W. C.
Brown, A. H.
Brunner, J. T.
Burt, T.
Byrne, G.
Cameron, C.
Cameron, J. M.
Campbell, H.
Carew, J. L.

Cook, E. R.
Cook, W.

Coote, T.
Corbet, W. J.
Cossham, H.

Cox, J. R.

Cozens-Hardy, H. H.
Craven, J.

Main Question proposed.

Debate arising.

Motion made, and Question, "That

the Debate be now adjourned,"-(Mr. | the Sale of Intoxicating Liquors on Sunday in

Jesse Collings,)-put, and agreed to.

Debate adjourned till To-morrow.

MOTIONS.

-0

PUBLIC PETITIONS.

Ordered, That a Select Committee be appointed, to whom shall be referred all Petitions presented to the House, with the exception of such as relate to Private Bills; and that such Committee do classify and prepare abstracts of the same, in such form and manner as shall appear to them best suited to convey to the

ACCESS TO MOUNTAINS (SCOTLAND)

BILL.

On Motion of Mr. Bryce, Bill to secure to the public the right of Access to Mountains and Moorlands in Scotland, ordered to be brought in by Mr. Bryce, Mr. Cheney Bolton, Mr. Haldane, Mr. D. Crawford, Sir Henry Roscoe, and Mr. Edward Russell.

Bill presented, and read the first time. [Bill 90.]

DOUBLE RETURN.

0

SCOTLAND DIVISION OF LIVERPOOL
AND BOROUGH OF GALWAY.

Mr. SPEAKER acquainted the House that he had received a Letter from Thomas P. O'Connor, esquire, returned as a Member for the Scotland Division of Liverpool, and for the Borough of Galway, making his election for the Scotland Division of Liverpool; and the said Letter was read as followeth :

Sir,

Jan. 25.

:

Having been elected for both the Scotland Division of Liverpool and the Borough of Galway, I beg to inform you that I elect to sit for the Scotland Division of Liverpool.

Your obedient Servant,

The Right Hon.
The Speaker.

T. P. O'CONNOR.

LAND REGISTRY BILL.-(No. 7.)

(The Lord Chancellor.)

SECOND READING.

Order of the Day for the Second Reading read.

THE LORD CHANCELLOR (Lord HALSBURY), in moving that the Bill be now read a second time, said, the measure had become necessary in consequence of the death of Mr. Brent Spencer Follett, Q.C., who had for some years been Chief Registrar of the Land Registry Office, and because no provision had been made in the Act of Parliament which constituted the office for the duties of the Registrar being performed by another Registrar, and it might be that any proceedings in the office in regard to titles of land would be void. It was therefore necessary that something should be done; but as considerable dissatisfaction had been expressed at the amount of business done and at the disproportionate expenditure of the office, it had been thought inexpedient to make a permanent appointment, especially pending the proposed alterations in regard to land transfer, which subject the Government hoped shortly to deal with.

The Land Transfer Bill would include provisions for the registration of land generally, and for the discharge of duties by the Registrars. Under all the cirstances, the Government thought it would be desirable to make temporary House adjourned at a quarter before provision for the discharge of the duties of the vacant office. He begged to move the second reading of the Bill.

One o'clock.

Several other Members took and sub- | the Chairman of the Committee on scribed the Oath.

PRIVATE BUSINESS.

PARLIAMENT STANDING ORDERS. Select Committee on Standing Orders nominated: : - Ordered, That the Committee do consist of Twelve Members: Mr. JOSEPH COWEN, Mr. DwYER GRAY, Mr. HALSEY, Mr. WILLIAM LOWTHER, Sir JOHN MOWBRAY, Colonel NOLAN, Mr. RAIKES, Mr. CRAIG SELLAR, Mr. STANSFELD, Sir CHARLES TENNANT, Mr. WHITBREAD, and Mr. YORKE were nominated Members of the Committee.-(Sir John R. Mowbray.)

Standing Orders, who, ex officio, was to be Chairman of the Committee of Selection, and seven other Members, eight in all. That was the provision he found in the Standing Orders, in the edition so late as August last. If the action of the Rule, entrusting to the Committee the selection of Members of the Grand Committee, rendered it necessary for the House to reconsider the constitution of that Committee, then the nature of the new Rules of Procedure, which it was proposed to submit to the House in the present Session, rendered it doubly necessary to be vigilant in the appointment of the Committee. When the Grand Committees were appointed, only two classes of Bills were proposed to be sent to them, and when those Bills came back from the Committees the House Motion made, and Question proposed, was at liberty to reconsider any Amend"That the Committee of Selection do ments made, and re-open the whole subconsist of Nine Members."-(Sir John R.ject; but, under the proposed new Rules Mowbray.)

COMMITTEE OF SELECTION.

NOMINATION OF COMMITTEE.

DR. CAMERON said, the functions of the Committee of Selection were, under ordinary circumstances, not very important or responsible. They had the duty of appointing Members to serve on Private Bill Committees-a duty that involved no feeling of political partizanship; and the duty of appointment had, no doubt, been performed as efficiently and fairly as anyone could desire. Up to two years ago the nomination of Members to serve on Committees involved nothing in connection with Party politics or Public Business; but two years ago the Rule was passed to refer two classes of Public Bills to Grand Committees, and on that occasion the selection of Members to serve on these Grand Committees was entrusted to the Committee the appointment of which was now moved. On that occasion, when the Committee was nominated, it was considered that the change proposed to be made in its functions had so greatly increased its importance that its constitution should be reconsidered; and a long and somewhat acrimonious debate resulted in the number of Members of the Committee being augmented from five to eight. In passing, he might call attention to one circumstance he could not understand. He found that in the Standing Order it was provided that the Committee of Selection should consist of

of Procedure, it was proposed that a number of different Select Committees on Public Bills should be appointed, and that virtually the entire powers the House in Committee exercised over the details of the Bills should be entrusted to those Committees, so that, when the Bills came back to the House, the House would be deprived of that opportunity of thorough discussion it had hitherto enjoyed. When the Bills came back without Amendments they were to be set down for third reading, and it would be difficult to propose any Amendment-it would have to be done on a Motion for the re-committal of the Bill. When the Bills came back with Amendments the House was to have an opportunity of considering them; but, those being considered, then the question of third reading was to be put without debate. He would not now discuss the merits of the proposed new Rules of Procedure; but it became very evident that the Committee to whom it was proposed to entrust such powers should be very carefully selected. As he had said, in selecting Members to serve on Private Bill Committees, no Party questions were involved. From his point of view, the constitution of the tribunals before which Private Bills were promoted, and the means offered for discussion of Business, were utterly unsatisfactory, and it would be impossible by any contrivance to make them worse; but with that, for