§ Considered in Committee.
§ (In the Committee.)
§ Clause 1.
§ (1.37.) MR. T. M. HEALY (Longford, N.)The hon. and learned Attorney General has brought in this Bill for four years in succession, and he has never succeeded in carrying it, because he has not tried to meet the views of hon. Members from Ireland. We are all most anxious that some Bill of this kind should be passed. In Ireland there is a series of decisions such as is utterly unknown and I believe is abhorrent to the English law. If this Bill is pressed forward in its present shape we will move Amendment after Amendment of capital importance, so that it will again become impossible for the hon. and learned Gentleman to pass it. I will therefore ask him and the Attorney General for Ireland to be good enough to study the extraordinary decisions that have been given in Ireland, and to endeavour to make the law in that country conformable with good sense.
§ (1.38.) THE ATTORNEY GENERAL (Sir R. WEBSTER, Isle of Wight)I am 805 not aware that there are any decisions in Ireland conflicting with the scope of this Bill. Of course if there are such decisions I will look into the matter.
§ (1.39.) MR. CONYBEARE (Cornwall, Camborne)This Bill—as I mentioned to the House the other night—will do a great deal more in the way of disenfranchisement than it will do in the way of enfranchisement, and it will be my duty to put down Amendments. I have put down some to-night, and I hope to put down others later on. In view of the statement now made by the hon. Member for Longford that the Bill does not meet with unanimous approval, we must object to its being rushed through, and must claim time to consider important Amendments.
§ Committee report Progress; to sit again upon Thursday.