HC Deb 12 May 1890 vol 344 cc797-9

Considered in Committee.

(11.50.) THE SOLICITOR GENERAL (Sir E. CLARKE,) Plymouth

I hope I may be allowed to make a short statement with regard to this Bill. It will be remembered by the Committee that last year a Statute Law Revision Bill came before the House, but was not then accepted, on the ground that it involved the repeal of certain Acts of Parliament, which hon. Members thought ought not to be dealt with without careful consideration. The Bill, was in fact, referred to a Select Committee, and that Committee, as the result of a large number of sittings, have now put before the House an amended Bill. They have drafted a Special Report, to which I venture to call the attention of the Committee. The Select Committee have pointed out in that Special Report that they felt it their duty to go carefully through the Bill submitted to them; that they have found it possible to amend it by leaving out certain formal language in the different clauses; and that they have found that the Preambles of several Statutes could well be dispensed with, as they threw no light on the Statutes and were of no historic importance. By this action the Committee have increased 12 or 15 fold the value of the Bill. The Committee further report that in the course of their examination of the Statutes they came across Statutes of little or no practical value which still remained unrepealed. This particularly applied to various Imperial Acts now operative in Scotland or Ireland only. [An hon. MEMBER: The Statute of Edward III.] These Statutes the Committee hold have no practical application to the present circumstances of either Scotland or Ireland, and it is obviously desirable that the Acts should be repealed, so that the law for the three countries should, as far as possible, be uniform. I can only say, in conclusion, that I hope the Bill will be accepted in its amended form. It has been most carefully considered. I bog to move to report Progress.

Motion made, and Question proposed, "That the Chairman do report Progress and ask leave to sit again."

MR. BRYCE (Aberdeen, S.)

As a Member of the Committee which presented the Report to which the learned Solicitor General has called attention I desire to confirm what he has said. The Committee were very much struck by the great care and attention which the Statute Law Revision Committee had do voted to the preparation of this Bill they entirely deserved the confidence placed in them by the House. Following in their footsteps, we found that a great deal still remained to be done in the way of Statute Law Consolidation, and we hope that the Report we have presented will enable the Revision Committee to proceed more rapidly with its important labours.

Committee report Progress; to sit again upon Thursday.