REGENCY BILL. (Hansard, 27 July 1910)

§ THE LORD PRIVY SEAL AND SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES (THE EARL OF CREWE)
My Lords, this Bill is a rather rare instance of a measure which, I think, in its contents 530 and substance fully commands the assent of all Parties in this House and in another place; yet it is one which it is most devoutly hoped will never come into operation. We, I believe, should all agree, if the deplorable event should occur which should make the appointment of a Regent necessary, that Her Majesty Queen Mary is the person upon whom the choice of the nation would unanimously fall, not only owing to the fact that the mother of a young Sovereign is obviously the person to whom in his inexperienced years he should look for counsel and support, but also owing to the character and attainments of Her. Majesty herself. The Bill, except in one trivial respect, follows the course indicated by precedent. After nominating Her Majesty Queen Mary as Regent, it states that she would be called 'upon to take certain oaths of office. It provides that the marriage of the Sovereign during the Regency is forbidden without the consent of the Regent in writing, and the assent of both Houses of Parliament; and provision is also made that if the Regent should become reconciled to the Church of Rome, or should marry a person professing the Roman Catholic religion, or should absent herself, except temporarily, from the Kingdom, her office should cease.
The only clause to which I need draw special attention is Clause 4, which provides that— The Regent shall not give or have power to give the Royal Assent to any Bill for repealing, changing, or in any respect varying, the order or course of succession to the Crown of this realm, as established by the Act of Settlement, or to any Bill for repealing or altering an Act of the fifth year of the reign of Queen Anne, made in Scotland, intituled ' An Act for securing the Protestant religion and Presbyterian government.' As the Bill was originally introduced in another place the clause contained a safeguard against the altering of the Act of Uniformity. In the course of the debate in another place, the general sense of the House being taken, the provision as regards the Act of Uniformity and also as regards the Act of Queen Anne relating to Scotland were taken out of the Bill. That fact caused the noble Lord, Lord Balfour, when the question of this Bill came before the House some time ago, to announce that he would enter a protest. Now, however, the noble Lord, I am sure, will be satisfied with the form that both the Bill and its Schedule have taken. As regards the Act of Uni- 531 formity, I gather that little or no protest was made in another place at the omission of the words safeguarding that. Act, and some reasons were adduced why it would be more convenient that it should not be expressly included. The point, I think, is a very small one, and I do not anticipate that any of your Lordships would desire to re-introduce the words relating to that Act on this occasion. It only remains for me to ask your Lordships to read the Bill a second time.

§ THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURY
My Lords, I am sure that there can be only one feeling in your Lordships' House and that is that hour Lordships give your most hearty and cordial assent to the proposal which the noble Earl the Leader of the House has made. There is, I think, no proposition in which your Lordships would more cordially join than in. this one. We feel that the Government have been well advised, in the lamentable possibility which we do not. care to contemplate, in naming Her Majesty Queen Mary as the Regent who should bear the grave responsibility which would then fall upon that office.
I only rose to mention that there appears o be one small omission at the end of Clause 5, upon which I shall offer an Amendment when the Bill gets into Committee. I do not desire to detain your Lordships upon it now, beyond pointing out that in the possibility contemplated under Clause 5—a remote and almost. absurd possibility—of providing for another Regent, the Government have not provided any Regent to take Queen Mary's place. In those circumstances this appears to me on the face of it to be an omission, but if the Government can explain it when we get. into Committee I shall not press the matter.

§ THE EARL OF CREWE
My Lords, on that point I need only say that I shall consider the matter and deal with the Amendment when it is placed upon the Paper. I believe as a matter of fact that precedent has been followed in this clause as also in other clauses of the Bill.