§ SIR T. LEA (Londonderry, S.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether, in 113 view of his statement to a deputation last Thursday that the present position of the Irish Sunday Closing question is a scandal to Parliament, and that the Bill dealing with the question has come down from the House of Lords, the Government will give the necessary time to complete the measure in this House?
§ THE CHIEF SECRETARY FOR IRELAND (Mr. J. MORLEY,) Newcastle-upon-TyneIt is quite true that I borrowed the language of my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, and also of the Leader of the Opposition, in describing the state of this particular measure as a scandal, and that, I think, is my view. But my hon. Friend knows as well as I do the great difficulties which we are under in the way of finding time, and he must have heard yesterday the declaration that the Government cannot undertake to find facilities for passing or furthering any private legislation. I was reminded the other day of the circumstances that in 1878, when the Bill concerned became law, it was passed almost as late as the period at which we have now arrived, because Sir Stafford North-cote, the Leader of the House, gave facilities for it. I find these facilities were effective because there was a practical concordat or agreement between the parties concerned in the Bill, and I simply throw out this hint to gentlemen sitting in the quarter of the House and elsewhere, whether some sort of agreement could not be come to now upon one or two of the outstanding details of the measure.
§ MR. T. W. RUSSELL (Tyrone, S.)I ask whether the small minority who were opposed to that Bill did not resist it to the close, and that there was no compromise?
§ MR. J. MORLEYIf that is so I was misinformed, but I was told on authority almost as good as the hon. Member's own. If there is no chance of any such arrangement now I am afraid the difficulty will be very serious.
§ SIR T. LEAI desire to ask the right hon. Gentleman, if there is no chance of passing the Bill this Session, will he consent to place it on the same level as another measure—the Evicted Tenants Bill—referred to yesterday, and put it down as a Government measure for next Session.
§ MR. BARTLEY (Islington, N.)I desire to know, Sir, if the Chief Secretary, when he talks of the scandal to Parliament, means that it is a scandal to the present Government for not finding time for the Bill.
§ MR. J. MORLEYI do not think that is a question I ought to answer. The language which I quoted was used by the Leader of the Opposition and by the Prime Minister from time to time during the period of years during which this Act has been constantly renewed instead of being made a statutory enactment. In answer to my hon. Friend the Member for South Derry, I cannot undertake to put it on the same footing as the other measure mentioned without consideration, but, as I assured him the other day, the Government are most anxious to pass this Bill, and the course they may take next Session in respect to it will have consideration if nothing is done this Session by gentlemen themselves.
§ MR. T. W. RUSSELLWith respect to the necessity for the promoters of the Bill to come to terms, I would like to ask whether the promoters, first of all, did not consent to the exemption of the five exempted cities from the Bill in order to pass it, and whether they did not still consent to three cities being exempted from the measure in order to facilitate its passage?
§ SIR T. LEAThe Bill has been qualified, and is now a practical compromise.
§ MR. J. MORLEYThese are argumentative questions, and we cannot discuss a matter of this kind in questions and answers across the floor of the House.
§ MR. SEXTON (Kerry, N.)In reference to a suggestion, of which I am not aware, that there has been a practical compromise, I wish to ask whether the right hon. Gentleman is aware that many of the Irish Members are strongly of opinion that this is a matter which should be reserved for the Irish Parliament?
§ MR. J. MORLEYI am aware that is so, but I may say that in my own view it would not be undesirable to get the measure passed even now if we could find time.