was devolved the duty of fixing the limits of the new borough of Huddersfield, he felt himself called upon to state that, in performing that duty, he did not conceive himself bound to consider the extent of property which any individual might possess within the borough, or his political opinions." Ultimately, the Reform Bill as originally conceived proved unwieldy, and the boundary reform, with its mass of detail and numerous schedules was divided off into a second bill. Hence the "Reform Act of 1832" is really two separate acts: a Representation of the People Act and the Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1832, which owed much of its effectiveness to Littleton's work. It is some measure of the regard in which he was held by parliamentary Radicals that in the Speaker election of January 1833, against his own wish, he was nominated by the Scottish MP Joseph Hume to become Speaker of the first reformed House of Commons. He was seconded by Daniel O'Connell himself. Littleton spoke against his own nomination, expressing his confidence in the existing Speaker, Charles Manners-Sutton, a Tory member, and praising his "unexampled patience and urbanity". Littleton had voted for Manners-Sutton consistently since 1817. He correctly diagnosed his own nomination as a political protest and he did not consider the Speakership a party matter. O'Connell countered with a long speech denouncing Toryism, demanding a triumphal vindication of the Reform Act and refusing to withdraw the nomination. He regarded the nomination of Manners-Sutton "as another instance of that paltry truckling on the part of the present Administration towards their ancient enemies, which had already afforded such frequent subjects of complaint." Lord Althorp, a fellow Radical, supported Littleton's non-partisan view but William Cobbett gave a bitterly partisan speech, claiming that the election of Manners-Sutton would be "an open declaration of war against the people of England." Much of the venom derived from an accompanying proposal to pay the Speaker a large pension. However, Manners-Sutton himself rose to reject the idea of a pension. A division was held on the proposal install Littleton in the Chair and it was defeated by 241 votes to 31: Littleton did not vote for himself. Littleton's nomination, though rejected by himself, had initiated an important constitutional debate, which established permanently in the reformed parliament the non-partisan character of the Speaker. Chief Secretary for Ireland, 1833–1834 In May 1833 Littleton became chief secretary to the Lord