HC Deb 06 June 1882 vol 270 cc361-3

Order for Consideration of Lords Amendments read.

Motion made, and Question proposed, "That the Lords Amendments be now considered."

MR. WARTON

said, he wished to call attention to the position in which the House stood with regard to this Bill. They had not the Bill as it was printed by the Lords, and they had a Paper of Lords' Amendments, which even in the paging did not correspond with the Bill. He, therefore, objected most strongly that they should be asked to go on with a measure in which they did not even know the effect of the Lords' Amendments they were asked to agree to. He had the greatest respect for the House of Lords—more, perhaps, than was entertained by hon. Members on the other side; but here was the absurd position—the House was asked to leave out something on page 4, and the Bill had no page 4 in it. He begged to move the adjournment of the debate.

Motion made, and Question proposed, "That the Debate be now adjourned."—{Mr. Warton.)

MR. BRYCE

said, the hon. and learned Member must be under some mistake. He held a copy of the Bill in his hand, and there certainly was a page 4 in it. The Lords' Amendments were simple and short, the Paper contained a sufficient reference to the places where the Amendments came in, and he did not think that any hon. Member, with the Bill and the Paper before him, would have any difficulty in seeing the effect of the Amendments. They were extremely simple, they offered not the least difficulty, and, while they were improvements, they made no considerable alteration in the substance of the Bill.

MR. WARTON

said, he was under no mistake, and within the last few minutes he had been in the Vote Office. Perhaps the hon. Member had an opportunity of getting a copy of the Bill not open to all. No doubt the hon. Member had a sufficient copy before him; but he (Mr. Warton) had something else, and he repeated that in this something else there was no page 4.

Question put.

The House divided: — Ayes 16; Noes 38: Majority 22. — (Div. List, No. 115.)

Original Question put, and agreed to.

Page 3, line 6, leave out the word "Enclosure," the first Amendment, read a second time.

MR. WARTON

said, he rose to Order. Would the Amendments be read by the Clerk and considered en bloc, or would they be taken separately?

MR. SPEAKER

Each Amendment will be considered by itself. Does the hon. and learned Member object to the Amendment?

MR. WARTON

said, he did so. Looking to the reference and then to the Bill, he did not find in line 6, on page 3, the word "enclosure" appearing at all, and he was quite unable to see how they could consider the omission of a word from a line where it had no existence. The hon. Member for the Tower Hamlets (Mr. Bryce) had given an assurance, which, no doubt, could be relied on, that these Amendments were all right; but, right or wrong, he (Mr. Warton) took the course of objecting to proceeding to vote without having proper information as to what they were doing. It was absurd in the face of the country to do such things. How could the word be left out of the line when there was no such word in? He begged leave to object to the Amendment, and would take the sense of the House upon it.

Motion made, and Question put, "That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said Amendment."

The House proceeded to a Division.

Mr. WARTON

was appointed one of the Tellers for the Noes, but no Mem- ber appearing to be a second Teller, Mr. SPEAKER declared that the Ayes had it.

Notice taken, that 40 Members were not present; House counted, and 40 Members being found present,

Subsequent Amendments agreed to. Schedule.

MR. WARTON

said, he desired one parting observation. He did not object to the addition of the Schedule, for however imperfect a Bill might be, it must have an end somewhere; but how Amendments could be made on a page 4 that had no existence he did not understand.

Schedule agreed to.