§ Lords Amendments considered.
§ MR. LLOYD-GEORGEsaid the Amendments were considerable in number and would take a long time to read. He would suggest therefore that they should be taken by the House en bloc. They had been most carefully considered and the Government were prepared to accept them.
§ LORD BALCARRES (Lancashire, Chorley)said he had not the slightest intention of opposing the right hon. Gentleman's suggestion to take the Amendments en bloc. He thought, however, upon the question that the Amendments be considered he might be permitted to make some observations upon the methods which had been adopted by the Government to pass this Bill. The House would recollect that when they had finished passing the Patents Bill proper at between two and three o'clock in the morning the Consolidation Bill was brought before them and passed, twenty clauses being taken at a time. They did not object to the Bill going through, but they pointed out that the Consolidation Bill was one which ought to be considered by a Select Committee. That course, however, was not followed, yet had the Bill been introduced earlier in the session, as it ought to have been, it could then have been fully and 417 properly considered by a Committee. As it was, however, the House of Lords, having passed the Patents Bill, were called upon two or three minutes later to consider a Consolidation Bill. There also, in that House, the Bill was not going through the proper ordeal of a Select Committee, but the Lords had placed in it, he would not like to say how many, Amendments, all of which had been agreed to in a very few minutes. However, he was quite prepared to accept the right hon. Gentleman's statement that these Amendments had been carefully considered by the Government, and he did not propose to object to their being taken en bloc, but at the same time he felt bound to point out that in neither House had the Bill passed through stages through which it was desirable that such Bills should pass.
§ Lords Amendments agreed to.