(( addressing himself to the Clerk of the House, who, standing up, pointed to him and then sat down ): Sir Lonsdale Webster—The Gracious Message from the Throne having been delivered in another place, it is now the duty of the Members elected to this House to proceed to the election of their Speaker. I rise with all respect to suggest the election of the right hon. John Henry Whitley to fill that position. As the majority of the House is no doubt well aware, for nearly a quarter of a century Mr. Whitley has served this House with singular fidelity and single-mindedness, first as Deputy-Chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means, then as its Chairman, and finally as Speaker. In those difficult and trying posts he has won golden opinions for the impartiality of his judgment and the wise sincerity of his mental outlook. My hon. and learned Friend the Member for Bassetlaw (Sir E. Hume-Williams) who, in a very gracious and felicitous speech, moved the Speaker into the Chair at the commencement of the last Parliament, entered into a definition of what were the qualities of an ideal Speaker. He said: Those I submit are the very qualities possessed by Mr. Whitley to a very remarkable degree. Speaking as a private Member, he has been helpful to all of us private Members when we have consulted him. He is tolerant when we pester him with our difficulties and requests to be called, and he is kind, inasmuch as when we fail to catch his eye, we feel instinctively that we have his sympathy for our failure to deliver speeches which we have carefully prepared, and which we fondly imagined would make our Parliamentary reputations. His courtesy and his helpfulness have won for him the gratitude of the private Member, and it is for this I feel that when he lays down his office of the Speakership will be specially remembered.

I do not propose to enter fully into a definition of the qualities of an ideal Speaker, because Mr. Whitley in the tenure of his office has so far reached perfection that he has won for himself the confidence of all Members of the House, whether they sit on the Front Benches or the Back Benches. He has added to the dignity and lustre of this House by a display of qualities which are peculiarly congenial to the House, and which have facilitated the smooth and efficient conduct of our business.

I remember reading that Mr. Manners Sutton, who was Speaker of this House about the time of the Reform Bill, was described by the famous orator Hunt as and the kindly wisdom which Mr. Whitley has always been prompt to apply to the service of this House.

I would submit that if Mr. Whitley has, by his moderation and impartiality, won the complete confidence of the House, he has the right to expect our loyal co-operation. It is our duty to show self-control and love of order—qualities which are the very essence of democratic government. A disorderly spirit is a sin as red as scarlet against democratic progress. It is a hindrance to our business and a betrayal of the trust which our constituents placed in us when they sent us here to do our business. These are platitudes which I fear are often forgotten in the heat of the Debate. I trust I may be forgiven for entering into this digression, but I have served as a private in the ranks of this House for 38 years, and I have as strong a feeling for the esprit de corps of the House as any old soldier has for his regiment. I share to the full the fervent desire felt no doubt by every Member for the constant fulfilment of Burke's prophecy, namely, that this House should be regarded, not only by the people of this Kingdom, but by those who dwell in the Dominions beyond the seas as the sanctuary of their liberties and their hopes for humanity. It is in the firm conviction that Mr. Whitley, if he be our Speaker, will help and inspire us to devote our energies to this end that I formally move "That the Rt. Hon. John Henry Whitley do take the Chair of this House as Speaker."

Sir Lonsdale Webster, if I may be permitted to say so, I rise with rather mixed feelings to second the Motion so ably and clearly proposed by the Noble Lord the Member for South Nottingham (Lord H. Cavendish-Bentinck)—mixed feelings because, in the first place, it gives me exceeding pleasure to have the opportunity of adding my small meed of praise to the greatness of Mr. Whitley as Speaker of this House. And, in the second place, I rise in some fear and trembling, because I feel my inability to put into terms as I would like to put it the brief statement that I have to make. I have not had the advantage of the long experience of the Noble Lord who has just moved this Motion. I am merely an apprentice in the House, and I have entered my apprenticeship at an age at which I am never likely to become a skilled craftsman; but I want it to be understood that my appearance in this House 18 months ago was not my first experience of Mr. Whitley. Some years ago I served on a rather important Committee of which Mr. Whitley was the honoured Chairman, and I learned from that experience, in the first place, of his very great ability and knowledge in the conduct of business, and, in the second place, of his immense and amazing kindness to the people over whom he presided. Since I came to this House, 18 months ago, all my experience has gone to confirm and enlarge the opinion that I formed of Mr. Whitley some years ago.

I, like other apprentices in this House, was presented with a little book of Rules and Regulations and Standing Orders, all of which, I suppose, I was expected to learn by heart, so that I would know how properly to conduct myself in this august Assembly. I made a start, as many others, I imagine, also made a start, but I gave it up as hopeless. It has been said by an eminent Judge that every subject of His Majesty in this country is expected fully to understand every law that has ever been passed by this House and every Clause of each law, and that it is no excuse for him to go before the Court and plead ignorance of the law— he is supposed to know all about it. In the same way, every Member of this House is expected to know every Rule and every Standing Order if he is to keep within the law.

It has been said that the best way fully to grasp and understand the Rules and Regulations of this House is to break them one by one, but I find, on looking at the Rules and Regulations, that if a person began in that way it would take him a whole lifetime to get through them, and even then he would not understand them very fully. I am not very sure whether there are 999 or 9,999 Rules and Regulations of one kind or another which he is expected to know. Mr. Speaker is expected to have assimilated all of these, and to understand every Clause and every line of every Clause and every period and every comma, and even where it is placed, because the placing of a comma in some of the Rules makes all the difference. He is supposed to understand all these Rules and Regulations, and to keep the Members right with regard to them. One sometimes wonders how one small head can contain all this information. My brief experience in this House reminds me in one way of the immortal Father O'Flynn, the hero of a well-known song and how he kept his flock in splendid control—how he checked the crazy ones, and coaxed the onaisy ones and how he helped the lazy ones on with a stick. I would not suggest for one moment—perish the thought—that there are any crazy or lazy ones in this House, but I feel sure, should such a misfortune ever come upon the House, that in Mr. Whitley we should find a person who would be willing to help the onlazy ones, even if not with a stick at least with something quite as effective.

I have listened sometimes to a wonderful flow of oratory coming from benches on one side or other of this House, and even with my uninitiated mind I have had a feeling that while the speech which was being delivered was splendid it was not altogether on the lines of Order of the House. And I have wondered, if the Speaker came to that opinion, what attitude he would take. I have seen him rise and calmly and quietly, and in a kindly way, remind the Member in the most mild voice that the matter he was speaking on was very good in its place, but at the moment it had no connection with the subject under discussion. The Speakership of this House requires immense knowledge, which I feel Mr. Whitley possesses. It requires, as the Noble Lord says, tact, kindness, and, when necessary, firmness. I believe that Mr. Whitley has all of these qualifications. I believe that not only will he stand up for the honour of this House, but, perhaps, something of quite as great importance, that he will stand up for the honour and rights of individual Members of this House if they should be interfered with. For all these reasons, I beg most humbly to second the Motion.

The House then, unanimously called Mr. John Henry Whitley to the Chair.

( who, standing up in his place, was received with general cheers ): Sir Lonsdale Webster—I rise, in accordance with ancient usage, to submit myself humbly to the will of the House. If my fellow Members wish to choose me as their Speaker to serve in this new Parliament, I will promise them the best service of which I am capable. It is a little embarrassing to be called upon to go through this ordeal for the fourth time within four years, but it has been made much more easy by the two speeches to which we have just listened. The Noble Lord the Member for South Nottingham (Lord H. Cavendish-Bentinck) is well entitled to have the first voice in a new Parliament. There is not only his own long service—he was here on these benches long before I was; he has found a constituency almost as faithful as my own—but, in addition, his family record is closely entwined with the history of Parliament. He is connected, I believe, with a certain Mr. Denzil Holies, who was one of the five Members, well known in history, who figured in an important incident in our history, an occasion when a certain monarch was seen in this House—for the only time, I believe—and when a certain Speaker made a celebrated reply to that King. His very name reminds us of 1688, when this House finally established the principle of our constitutional monarchy. The incident is recorded in a picture just outside our Lobby. He is connected also, I believe, with Robert Harley, who was Speaker of the House in the reign of Queen Anne, and who contrived to be a Secretary of State at the same' time—showing a versatility which, I think, has only once been equalled in modern times. I thank the Noble Lord for the kind way in which he has spoken about myself.

I am, perhaps, more conscious than my colleagues in the House how often a Speaker falls short of what he ought to be, but I have a sense, a very deep sense, of the kindness of the House and, may I say, often also of the blindness of the House, to its Speaker's failings. The hon. Member for Morpeth (Mr. Smillie) also leaves me greatly in his debt. As [ILL]e has said, he and I were colleagues some ears ago, and I learned then to know and to admire him. He has so far been one of the quiet Members of our House. I, perhaps, more than some, have known what power he had in reserve, and the speech to which the House has listened just now with so much attention has been, I think, somewhat of a revelation to those who did not know him in any other capacity. We meet again to-day in a very changed House of Commons. I believe there have been 216 changes since we last met here. Some old Members who had almost grown into the fabric of this place are no longer with us; some whom we had missed awhile have returned to us; and a Very great number are new Members of this House. May I say to these last that we feel confident they will grow into the traditions of the place. We hope they will find many new friendships in all parts of the House. It is really the human quality of this House that gives it an attraction to those who come here. It is rather sad to think that some to whom we looked for promise of great things in the future are not, by mishap, with us at the moment. When the last Parliament had run for about six months, I was asked once by an old and retired Member whether any embryo statesmen had yet made their appearance. My answer was, "Oh, yes, several." He followed it up quickly by asking, "Oh, do tell me who they are." My answer was, "Oh, they have not made their maiden speeches yet." The quality of listening, at first at any rate, is at least as important as the quality of speech. Whoever is called to the office of Speaker in any Parliament depends, not upon any strength that he finds in himself, but on the goodwill and the support of his colleagues in the House. For myself, I have a very profound sense of the kindness with which the House has treated me since I occupied the Chair, and if I am called to that Chair again I shall rely still, and rely only, on the support of the Members of the House.

The, House then having again unanimously called Mr. JOHN HENRY WHITLEY to the Chair, he was taken out of his place, and conducted to the Chair by Lord Henry Cavendish-Bentinck and Mr. Smillie.

( standing on the upper step ): Before I take the Chair again as the Speaker of the House, I must express to the House my profound sense of the honour that is conferred upon me, and I must assure the House of my complete devotion to its service.

sat down in the Chair.

Then the Mace (which before lay under the Table) was placed upon the Table.

Mr. Speaker-Elect,—You made a not unnatural complaint that of recent years these ceremonies had taken place with more than their customary rapidity, but I think it is a fact that, however often this ceremony does take place, it never becomes by custom stale, and there are always elements fresh and new in the situation. It is true that it is your fourth election in a period of less than four years, but it is also true that the Leader of the House, who has the honour of giving first expression to the sentiments of the House upon your election, finds himself performing that duty twice in the same year, after having had freedom from the cares and responsibilities of office almost from the day when he welcomed you to that Chair. I cannot tell you, Sir, with what relief your faithful constituents here learned, a short while back, that rumour, that lying jade, becomes more of a liar and a greater jade with every year she lives. We did not believe for a moment, Sir, that we should have to call on any other Member of this House for that great service than yourself, in spite of what we read; and we rejoice to find you in your place to-day ready, as always, to obey the behests of this House.

During this year you have had a unique experience, for you had to conduct business in a House in which were three minorities; and I am sure that the skill and the tact and the patience that you displayed in that great service made us more determined than ever that we should ask you once more, if it should be agreeable to your will, to preside over our deliberations. But I should like, Sir, if I may, as Leader of the House, in passing to compliment the hon. Member for Morpeth (Mr. Smillie), who has spoken so seldom in this House, on the admirable speech he made this afternoon. I feel sure that there is no one on his own side who could fail to sanction a form of dilution that has permitted him as an apprentice, long before the period required for the ordinary man to qualify as a skilled craftsman, to make his appearance as such in this House—just one more proof of how the exceptional man rises superior to all rules.

Only last January I ventured to single out courage and wisdom as two of the characteristics most desirable in a Speaker, and, as was well said by my Noble Friend who proposed your election in so eloquent a speech, you have more than that share of patience which is also a requisite—patience not only, if I may say so, with the inexperience that is inherent in a new Parliament, but also with that eloquence which belongs to Parliamentarians of all ages. I know it is impossible for you to please every Member of this House, but I would remind Members on this first day of the Session that the remedy is to some extent in their own hands, for, while we are all subject to natural limitations of time, you, Sir, do your best to allot that time during the Sittings of the House, and it depends on each individual's disposition of his own fragment of time what fragments there may be left for others. I venture to congratulate you, if that be the right word, on the confidence that this House has once more reposed in you, and to say, speaking primarily, as I do, as Leader of the House, that the whole House will give you its unfailing support, recognising, as the House always does, that the Speaker of this House is the linch-pin of the whole chariot, and that if the Speaker of the House fail to function, the House itself must fail to function also.

Mr. Speaker-Elect,—It is a very great pleasure to me, on behalf of the Opposition, to associate myself with the congratulations that the Prime Minister has offered to you—congratulations to you on the extraordinary evidence that has been shown of the confidence that the House reposes in you, and also, I think, congratulations to ourselves that you should have for the fourth time consented to act as our Speaker. I hope that your period of office will be very pleasant to you. It cannot increase the respect or the esteem in which we hold you, but I am perfectly certain that it will enable the new Members, who do not understand why we have that respect and that esteem, to understand it, and it will give those of us who are older Members, and who know you intimately, fresh reasons for approving of the decisions that we have previously come to in that regard. To rule Parliament is, I am afraid, not a task that is becoming less difficult. But your great patience, upon which comments have already been made, your wonderful tact, and your unmatched knowledge of the Rules of the House, have already shown themselves abundantly in past Parliaments, and we know perfectly well that they are still in reserve should need require their exercise.

You, Sir, referred to certain predecessors of yours, whose portraits have become your special care—because, if I might step aside for a moment, we should like to congratulate you on not having confined your sense of duty as Speaker to merely sitting in the Chair and ruling the Assembly. In you the traditions of the House have received a very worthy custodian, as is shown by that gathering of your predecessors which hang upon your walls. I hope—nay, I am sure—that we shall not put you to the trials to which some of those predecessors of yours were put by our predecessors; but the House is sometimes ebullient in its gaiety of mind and in its gustiness of conflict. All I can say is that it will be our duty and our pleasure to support you in everything that you may feel it necessary to do to maintain this House as a place of free discussion, of critical examination, and of effective action. You will defend, we are sure, the liberties of this House, the privileges of minorities, the rights of minorities; and you will uphold all those traditions that experience has shown 10 be essential to its authority and its dignity. I congratulate you most heartily, and I am perfectly certain that we are safe in your keeping.

Mr. Speaker-Elect,—I wish, on behalf of my friends sitting on these benches, to associate myself with the observations that have fallen already from preceding speakers in congratulating you upon your election to that position of high dignity and of great responsibility and authority. I am not as old a Member of the House as the Noble Lord who moved you to the Chair, but I have been here for 35 years, and perhaps; I may be permitted the privilege of an old Member to make one observation about the speeches of the Mover and the Seconder. I think this is the thirteenth or fourteenth occasion upon which I have heard speeches moving Speakers to the Chair, and it has never been my privilege to hear it done in such felicitous terms as upon the present occasion. I have seen many Speakers in this House, and they were men of diverse gifts, but I think it can be said of them all that they were men who maintained the dignity and the traditions of this House; and that is peculiarly true of you, Sir.

I should like to associate myself with what has been said by the two preceding speakers and the others about your great knowledge of the Rules of the House—I think you began to acquire that knowledge when you and I were associated together on these benches in Opposition in circumnavigating some of those Rules—your tact, your patience and your skill. There is no group of Members in the House of Commons which has as deep an interest in the election of a Speaker for a Parliament as the smallest party in it. Majorities look after themselves, and the drastic changes which have taken place in the Rules of the House during the last 40 years bear witness to the determination of majorities to defend their rights. But every alteration which has been made is a curtailment of time-honoured opportunities for debate which have been enjoyed for generations by minorities and by individuals, and every alteration casts a greater responsibility upon the Chair to protect the liberties that still remain. We have every confidence that you will maintain the high traditions of your office by protecting the greatest and most honoured of our privileges in this House, and that is to see that individuals and groups, however unpopular the views they may express, if they are expressing them on behalf of their constituents, are given every protection from the Chair.

Mr. Speaker-Elect,—I have only one excuse for intruding upon the House with a few words, and that is that I am in the exceptional position of being the oldest Member in continuous service. As to minorities requiring protection, I think I had better get under your wing. I believe a religious gentleman from that northern country to which so many of my friends on the benches above the Gangway belong once approached Professor de Morgan, the great mathematician of his time and the father of the greater man, the novelist son, and asked him—this gentleman was a little anxious about theological rectitude and the future possibilities of men of other creeds—to what Church he belonged, and Professor de Morgan's answer was, "I belong to a church out of which there is no salvation and of which I am the only member." I may take the House into my confidence, and tell them that my spiritual welfare does not give me as much concern as in previous epochs of my Parliamentary life, for I believe there are four Nonconformist clergymen here who are saying prayers for me daily. I hope there will be no severe theological scrutiny as to the value of their prayers in what I may call another place.

Another claim to intrude these few words upon the House is that I think I am, except perhaps the right hon. Gentleman who has just spoken, your oldest friend in this House, and I may say of myself, and I may say, I think, of successive Parliaments, that the greater our knowledge of you the greater our esteem and regard. May I say, as one who was not born in this country, but who has lived three-quarters of his life in it, that you represent what I regard as the very finest qualities of British character. I put among these qualities control of temper, fairness, good humour and consideration. There is no Member of this House, to whatever party he belongs, but can come to you with full confidence, not merely in your impartiality, but in your good feeling. Every Member of the House can come to you for consultation and for advice. He may tell you all his secrets, except those domestic and social, sometimes and financial, which can only with safety be confided to God and the Whip of his party. The Leader of the House has described you as the "linch-pin of the chariot." It is characteristic of Englishmen that they take the most modest and materialistic form of expressing the highest things in their nature. Let me transmute this deliberate prose of my right hon. Friend into the somewhat mere sentimental form to which men of my nationality are accustomed. I regard our great and beneficent Empire as finding in this House a great bridge, a method of communication between every part of it. Anyone who disturbs or shakes that bridge is dealing a blow at that mighty fabric. I would describe you, not as the linch-pin of the chariot, but as the centre stone of the great arch upon which the pillars of our mighty Empire rest.

Motion made, and Question proposed, "That this House do now adjourn."—[ The Prime Minister .]

thereupon put the Question, which being agreed to, the House adjourned accordingly until To-morrow, and Mr. SPEAKER-ELECT went away without the Mace before him.

House adjourned at Thirteen Minutes before Pour o'Clock, until To-morrow (Wednesday) at a Quarter before Three o'Clock.