§ Order for Second Reading read.
§ MR. SEBJEANT SIMON, in moving that the Bill be now read the second time, said, its object was to remove a serious evil. Where there were several distinct interests insured in one policy, and the stamp duty had been paid upon the aggregate, and had not been calculated upon each of the separate interests, the policy would not be available in any Court of Law or Equity, but for all practical purposes would be absolutely void, if the stamp duty upon the separate interests exceeded what had been paid upon the aggregate. The insurer was not even allowed to cure the error by payment of the correct amount. Now it continually happened that the separate interests were not ascertainable, where there were several shipments from abroad, until the last shipment had been notified to the correspondent here, so that the law as it now stood imposed an impossible duty. The object of the Bill was to remedy this defect. It would enable the merchant, who had insured on a time policy on the aggregate amount of the shipments, and had stamped his policy accordingly, to cure any deficiency by stamping it correctly within a reasonable time after the separate interests of the shipments had been ascertained.
§ Motion made, and Question proposed, "That the Bill be now read a second time."—(Mr. Serjeant Simon.)
§ THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUERthought everybody would agree that the object of the Bill was a good one. The Treasury had communicated with the Board of Inland Revenue, and they had inserted certain alterations in the Bill, which he believed the hon. and learned Gentleman would accept. Under these circumstances, the Bill had the hearty support of the Government.
§ Motion agreed to: Bill read a second time, and committed for To-morrow.