HC Deb 13 June 1902 vol 109 cc673-4

(5.10.) Bill as amended considered—

Amendments made.

Motion made and Question proposed, "That the Bill he now read the third time."

MR. BANBURY

objected, remarking that the Second Reading of the Bill and the Committee Stage were taken after twelve o'clock. There were Amendments now on the Report Stage.

MR. T. W. RUSSELL

I hope my hon. friend will not persist in his objection. For the first time within my memory, and I have been sixteen years in the House, there is a measure before the House upon which every Irish Member, north, south, east, and west, is absolutely agreed. The Government also are agreed that this is a necessary and urgent thing to be done, and in addition to that there are meetings being convened in every county in Ireland trying to put pressure on the Government to get this Bill through, owing to the scandals that have arisen. This is the last private Members' day of the session, and after this, if the Bill is not read a third time now, we shall be at the mercy after twelve o'clock of any Gentleman who rises and says "I object." The House has now the opportunity of giving assent to the general and unanimous feeling of the country, and it may never come again. I do not think the hon. Member is unfriendly to the Bill.

MR. JOHN REDMOND (Waterford)

I rise to say a word in support of the appeal of the hon. Gentleman opposite, I think the position of the hon. Member for Peckham is a most unreasonable one. If it be true, as the hon. Member for South Tyrone says, that the hon. Member is really in favour of the Bill then his attitude is most extraordinary when he takes advantage of the forms of the House to prevent the Bill being read a third time. It is a Bill on which everybody is agreed, and I would ask the hon. Member to allow it to pass. All parties in Ireland, and as far as I know all parties in England and Scotland, are willing to allow it to be read a third time now.

MR. BANBURY

withdrew his objection, remarking that he was not particularly in favour of the Bill. If anything he was rather against it, because it seemed to him that it endeavoured to create a monopoly amongst those people who already held licences in Ireland. It might be that that was a good thing for Ireland, but he did not think it would boa good thing for the United Kingdom generally. He understood that there were exceptional circumstances in Ireland which made it advisable to pass the measure.