§ Order of the Day for the Second Reading read.
§ LORD KINNAIRDmoved the Second Reading of this Bill, the object of which was to enable Railway Companies in Scotland to make transfers of their bonds in an easy, speedy, and economical manner; in fact, to enable them to take advantage of the present law of the land by supplying an omission that occurred in the Act itself.
§ Moved, That the Bill be now read 2a.
§ LORD REDESDALE,upon public grounds—but only on public grounds—objected to the second reading of the Bill. He certainly should concur in the principle of providing an easy mode of effecting transfers of these securities; but he thought the measure, if approved of, should not apply to Scotland alone, but to the whole of the United Kingdom. He objected also that the provision regarding the transfer of railway bonds free from stamp duty on a single payment of treble stamp duty would be seriously prejudicial to the interests of the revenue. He thought that every transfer should be subject to a stamp duty. Under those circumstances he moved that the Bill be read a third time that day six months.
§ Amendment moved, to leave out ("now") and insert ("this Day Six months.")
THE DUKE OF MONTROSEsaid, that he was not before aware that the noble Lord who had just spoken was Chancellor of the Exchequer in that House, or that he undertook to do the duty of that right hon. Gentleman in the House of Lords. The object of the Bill was simply to enable persons having railway securities to transfer those securities without being obliged to have recourse to a deed of transfer, or to employ lawyers and brokers. The Scotch people were anxious for the measure, and he saw no reason why their Lordships should not at once pass it into law without waiting until another Session for an English Bill to be brought in by the Government.
§ LORD REDESDALEremarked, that as he understood the Government intended to support the Bill in that House, he should not trouble their Lordships to divide. He had done his duty in calling attention to the measure, and pointing out the loss that would accrue to the revenue.
§ Amendment (by Leave of the House) withdrawn.
§ Then the Original Motion was agreed to;
§ Bill read 2a accordingly; and Committed to a Committee of the whole House on Thursday next.