§ CAPTAIN CRAIG (Down, E.)asked leave to bring in a Bill to provide for the due display of the national flag on certain occasions in Great Britain and Ireland, more particularly on Empire Day. He said that in consequence of replies which had been given to a number of Questions put to various Members of the Cabinet during the past few days, he had taken the only step he could think of in order to impress upon the Government the importance of flying the flag on Empire Day. Hon. Members below the gangway took very good care to fly a certain flag in Dublin on a certain day and they might extend the courtesy and gratify the desire of probably the largest section of the loyal people of the Empire to see the flag flying on public buildings in London. The Prime Minister had said yesterday at Question time that he saw no reason to depart from the precedent of those who were in 307 office before him. But no one would deny that during the past few years there had been a growing desire throughout the country to celebrate Empire Day. In the Senate House in Canada a few days ago, when the question was raised about the flying of the flag in Canada, the reply of the Prime Minister, if he had been correctly reported, was very apt. He said that if the Government here had no desire to fly the flag, they in Canada at any rate would fly it all the oftener. This short Bill would make it obligatory on Ministers of the Crown to fly the British flag over their offices on Empire Day and would also give permission to fly the flag over the national schools in Ireland where the majority of the parents, the pupils, and the managers, acquiesced in so doing. He would remind the House of the words used by the Prime Minister on the Motion for the adjournment the previous night. He said—
If the noble Lord would from time to time give him such information as was at his disposal as to the growth of a general desire for this particular form of manifestation on the part of the children of the Empire it would receive his most respectful consideration.They thanked the Prime Minister for the courteous way in which he met the request addressed to the Front Bench. The right hon. Gentleman said that he was following the precedent of those who went before him, but there could be no question that Empire Day was more generally celebrated now than in the days of his predecessors. A very interesting function was taking place even that day at Croydon where the school children were unfurling a flag presented by the Agent-General for New South Wales. After all, the taxpayers of the country paid for the erection of the War Office, the Admiralty, and the other great buildings in which right hon. Gentlemen opposite exercised their offices, and the great bulk of those taxpayers would undoubtedly rather see the flag flying over those buildings on these occasions than see the bare flag-staff. The flying
§ of the flag would also be a great gratification to the many Colonial visitors who came to this country. It would show them that we, at home, were anxious to assist the Empire movement in other parts of the world. Then again this particular part of the Empire was often visited by foreigners, and it was desirable that we should impress upon them that this little bit of country was not all we had to show them—that outside the United Kingdom we had an Empire. We ought to emphasise that fact on every possible occasion. The Bill had the cordial approval of the loyal section in Ireland where it was proposed to give permission to hoist the national flag over the national schools.
§ CAPTAIN CRAIGsaid the Bill would inflict no hardship on hon. Members below the gangway, because it was especially stipulated that where the majority of parents did not desire to fly the flag they need not do so. He would only say in conclusion it would be a graceful act on the part of the Prime Minister and his colleagues to grant the request of the people of this country. It took a long time to obtain the privilege of flying the national flag over the Houses of Parliament, and a certain number of hon. Members did not think it a waste of time to keep on, as long as they had the privilege of sitting in that House, asking that the flag should also fly over the chief Government offices in London.
§ Motion made, and Question put, "That leave be given to bring in a Bill to pro vide for the due display of the National Flag on certain occasions in Great Britain and Ireland, more particularly on Empire Day."—(Captain Craig.)
§ The House divided:—Ayes, 88; Noes, 156. (Division List No. 99.)
311| AYES. | ||
| Acland-Hood. Rt. Hn. Sir Alex. F. | Balfour, Rt. Hn. A. J. (City Lond.) | Beckett, Hon. Gervase |
| Anstruther-Gray, Major | Banbury, Sir Frederick George | Brodie, H. C. |
| Ashley, W. W. | Baring, Godfrey (Isle of Wight) | Burnyeat, W. J. D. |
| Ashton, Thomas Gair | Baring, Capt. Hn. G. (Winchester | Campbell, Rt. Hon. J. H. M |
| Balcarres, Lord | Barrie, H. T. (Londonderry, N.) | Carlile, E. Hildred |
| Baldwin, Stanley | Beck, A. Cecil | Castlereagh, Viscount |
| Cave, George | Holland, Sir William Henry | Randles, Sir John Scurrah |
| Chamberlain, Rt Hn. J. A. (Worc. | Hope, James Fitzalan (Sheffield | Rees, J. D. |
| Chaplin, Rt. Hon. Henry | Kennaway, Rt. Hn. Sir John H. | Ridsdale, E. A. |
| Cleland, J. W. | Kerry, Earl of | Ronaldshay, Earl of |
| Clive, Percy Archer | Kimber, Sir Henry | Ropner, Colonel Sir Robert |
| Collings, Rt. Hn. J. (Birmingh'm | Lamont, Norman | Shaw, Charles Edw. (Stafford) |
| Corbett, A. Cameron (Glasgow) | Lane-Fox, G. R. | Sheffield, Sir Berkeley George D. |
| Courthope, G. Loyd | Law, Andrew Bonar (Dulwich) | Silcock, Thomas Ball |
| Craig, Charles Curtis (Antrim, S.) | Lee, Arthur H. (Hants, Fareham | Smeaton, Donald Mackenzie |
| Craig, Captain James (Down, E.) | Long, Col. Charles W. (Evesham | Smith, F. E. (Liverpool, Walton) |
| Craik, Sir Henry | Lonsdale, John Brownlee | Stanley, Hn. A. Lyulph (Chesh.) |
| Crossley, William J. | Lyell, Charles Henry | Stone, Sir Benjamin |
| Dixon-Hartland, Sir Fred Dixon | Lynch, H. B. | Tennant, Sir Edward (Salisbury |
| Doughty, Sir George | Lyttelton, Rt. Hon. Alfred | Thomson, W. Mitchell-(Lanark) |
| Douglas, Rt. Hon. A. Akers- | Magnus, Sir Philip | Wason, John Cathcart (Orkney) |
| Du Cros, Arthur Philip | Marks, H. H. (Kent) | Watt, Henry A. |
| Edwards, Clement (Denbigh) | Morpeth, Viscount | Williams, Col. R. (Dorset, W.) |
| Faber, Capt. W. V. (Hants, W. | Morrison-Bell, Captain | Wilson, J. W. (Worcestersh, N.) |
| Fardell, Sir T. George | O'Donnell, C. J. (Walworth) | Wilson, P. W. (St. Pancras, S.) |
| Fell, Arthur | Parker, Sir Gilbert (Gravesend) | Wyndham, Rt. Hon. George |
| Freeman-Thomas, Freeman | Parkes, Ebenezer | |
| Gordon, J. | Paulton, James Mellor | TELLERS FOB THE AYES—Mr. Forster and Viscount Valentia. |
| Greenwood, Hamar (York) | Pirie, Duncan V. | |
| Hardy, George A. (Suffolk) | Powell, Sir Francis Sharp | |
| Hill, Sir Clement | Radford, G. H. | |
| NOES. | ||
| Abraham, William (Cork, N. E.) | Goddard, Sir Daniel Ford | Maddison, Frederick |
| Atherley-Jones, L. | Gooch, George Peabody (Bath) | Mallet, Charles E. |
| Baker, Sir John (Portsmouth) | Grant, Corrie | Manfield, Harry (Northants) |
| Barlow, Sir John E. (Somerset) | Gulland, John W. | Meagher, Michael |
| Barry, E. (Cork, S.) | Hall, Frederick | Meehan, Francis E. (Leitrim, N) |
| Belloc, Hilaire Joseph Peter R. | Halpin, J. | Mooney, J. J. |
| Bennett, E. N. | Harvey, W. E. (Derbyshire, N. E. | Morgan, J. Lloyd (Carmarthen) |
| Boland, John | Haslam, James (Derbyshire) | Morse, L. L. |
| Bowerman, C. W. | Hayden, John Patrick | Muldoon, John |
| Bryce, J. Annan | Hazel, Dr. A. E. | Murnaghan, George |
| Burt, Rt. Hon. Thomas | Hazleton, Richard | Murray, Capt. Hn A. C. (Kincard) |
| Byles, William Pollard | Healy, Timothy Michael | Nicholls, George |
| Cameron, Robert | Henderson, Arthur (Durham) | Nolan, Joseph |
| Carr-Gomm, H. W. | Higham, John Sharp | Nugent, Sir Walter Richard |
| Channing, Sir Francis Allston | Hobart, Sir Robert | Nuttall, Harry |
| Clancy, John Joseph | Hodge, John | O'Brien, William (Cork) |
| Clough, William | Hogan, Michael | O'Connor, John (Kildare, N.) |
| Clynes, J. R. | Holt, Richard Durning | O'Connor, T. P. (Liverpool) |
| Cobbold, Felix Thornley | Hope, W. Bateman (Somerset, N | O'Donnell, T. (Kerry, W.) |
| Collins, Stephen (Lambeth) | Hudson, Walter | O'Dowd, John |
| Corbett, C H (Sussex, E. Grinst'd | Idris, T. H. D. | O'Grady, J. |
| Cotton, Sir H. J. S. | Illingworth, Percy H. | O'Kelly, James (Roscommon, N. |
| Craig, Herbert J. (Tynemouth) | Johnson, W. (Nuneaton) | O'Shaughnessy, P. J. |
| Crean, Eugene | Jones, Leif (Appleby) | Parker, James (Halifax) |
| Cullinan, J. | Jowett, F. W. | Partington, Oswald |
| Davies, Ellis William (Eifion) | Joyce, Michael | Phillips, John (Longford, S.) |
| Delany, William | Kekewich, Sir George | Pickersgill, Edward Hare |
| Devlin, Joseph | Kennedy, Vincent Paul | Pollard, Dr. |
| Dilke, Rt. Hon. Sir Charles | Kettle, Thomas Michael | Power, Patrick Joseph |
| Dillon, John | Kilbride, Denis | Pri stley, W. E. B. (Bradford, E.) |
| Donelan, Captain A. | Kincaid-Smith, Captain | Reddy, M. |
| Duckworth, James | Laidlaw, Robert | Redmond, John E. (Waterford) |
| Duncan, C. (Barrow-in-Furness | Lamb, Edmund G. (Leominster | Redmond, William (Clare) |
| Duncan, J. H. (York, Otley) | Lardner, James Carrige Rushe | Richards, Thomas (W. Monm'th |
| Edwards, Enoch (Hanley) | Law, Hugh A. (Donegal, W.) | Richards, T. F. (Wolverh'mpt'n |
| Esmonde, Sir Thomas | Levy, Sir Maurice | Robertson, J. M. (Tyneside) |
| Esslemont, George Birnie | Macdonald, J. R. (Leicester) | Roche, Augustine (Cork) |
| Fenwick, Charles | Macdonald, J. M. (Falkirk B'gh | Roche, John (Galway, East) |
| Ferens, T. R. | MacNeill, John Gordon Swift | Roe, Sir Thomas |
| Ffrench, Peter | Mac Veagh, Jeremiah (Down, S). | Rowlands, J. |
| Flavin, Michael Joseph | Mac Veigh, Charles (Donegal, E). | Seddon, J. |
| Flynn, James Christopher | M'Crae, George | Sheehan, Daniel Daniel |
| Fullerton, Hugh | M'Hugh, Patrick A. | Sheehy, David |
| Glover, Thomas | M'Laren, Sir C. B. (Leicester) | Shipman, Dr. John G. |
| Smyth, Thomas F. (Leitrim, S.) | Wadsworth, J. | Williams, J. (Glamorgan) |
| Snowden, P. | Walsh, Stephen | Williamson, A. |
| Stanley, Albert (Staffs, N. W.) | Ward, John (Stoke-upon-Trent) | Wilson, Henry J. (York, W. R.) |
| Stewart, Halley (Greenock) | Ward, W. Dudley (Southampt'n | Wilson, John (Durham, Mid) |
| Straus, B. S. (Mile End) | Wardle, George J. | |
| Summerbell, T. | Waring, Walter | TELLERS FOR THE NOES—Mr. George Roberts and Mr. Patrick O'Brien. |
| Taylor, John W. (Durham) | Waterlow, D. S. | |
| Taylor, Theodore C. (Radcliffe) | Weir, James Galloway | |
| Thomas, David Alfred (Merthyr | White, Sir George (Norfolk) | |
| Toulmin, George | White, J. D. (Dumbartonshire) |