Part of Orders of the Day — Report [20TH February] – in the House of Commons am ar 25 Chwefror 1924.
Mr Harry Gosling
, Stepney Whitechapel and St George's
I daresay in the new office that I hold I shall make mistakes, but I am going to try and avoid the first mistake, and not be drawn into a Debate on the Adjournment of the House upon a Bill that is not complete and has yet to be introduced. I think it would be fatal if at this moment I disclosed matters that are not finally decided. After what the Prime Minister told the House to-day, that the matter was still being considered with a view to getting larger and fuller co-operation, it would be a very great mistake on my part to try and pacify my hon. Friend on the left or my hon. Friend on the right. I want to stand between the two of them for a little while and see what can be done to bring them together. This morning I saw a very important deputation on this matter, and since the Prime Minister spoke I have seen others this evening, and I hope to see more to-morrow. If hon. Members will have a little more patience, we shall save time by my not disclosing anything until I am a little more sure of my ground, and I hope to save time upstairs by getting a better measure of agreement before we start. In these circumstances, I am sorry I cannot answer the hon. Member.
An adjournment is a break in the course of parliamentary business.
The House adjourns at the end of each day's business.
On a daily basis the House adjourns, or breaks, half an hour after the moving of the adjournment debate.
The House is also adjourned for several holiday periods during the session.
The more lengthy adjournments - often coinciding with the academic calendar - are known as recesses.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
