§ If, on the prosecution of any person under this Act for paying wages less than the minimum rate, it appears that he was employing persons for the purpose of carrying out any contract with a shopkeeper, dealer, or trader for the execution of work on material given out to him by the shopkeeper, dealer, or trader, and that the terms of the contract were such as to leave no margin of profit to the employer except by means of the employment of labour at less than the minimum rate, the shopkeeper, dealer, or trader may, without prejudice to the liability of the actual employer, be charged with an offence against this Act, and if it is proved that the terms of the contract were clearly such as aforesaid, on summary conviction shall be liable to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds, and the contract for the execution of the work shall be void:
§ Provided that this section shall not extend to a trade to which this Act is applied by Provisional Order unless it is expressly extended to that trade by the Order.
§ Sir C. W. DILKEmoved, at the beginning, to insert: "In the case of the branches of tailoring specified in the schedule to this Act." I do not propose to press this, because we have heard it is the intention of the Government to drop the clause, but I move it for the purpose of stating what is the view taken by those 2467 who have previously promoted legislation of this kind. They were not, I think, consulted with regard to this clause, and their opinion is that it would be useful to the tailoring trade, but would be either useless or dangerous as a general clause, and their wish was that it should be in the power of the Trade Boards to withhold its application to other trades.
§ The PRESIDENT of the BOARD of TRADE (Mr. Churchill)I am of opinion to-day, as I have been during previous discussions on this subject, that the addition of Clause 7 would be of advantage to the Bill. I think it easy to over-estimate the amount of advantage which would be derived from it, but it would be an advantage, especially to the tailoring trade. At the same time, it cannot be contended that the Act cannot be worked effectually without the addition of Clause 7, and it has been brought to my attention during the discussions in Grand Committee and also through private discussions I have had with many Members who take an interest in this legislation, that there are a great many supporters of the general principle of the legislation who would find difficulty in agreeing to the proposal in this clause. That being so, in view of the fact that it was not originally in our Bill, in view of the desire which the Government have to preserve in this Bill all the sections of those who have supported it, and in view of the fact that there is no doubt whatever that although the clause was of advantage, in our opinion we can effectively work the Bill without it, I have proposed, and the Government intend, to accede to the pressure which has been brought to bear, and the representations which have been made to them from so many quarters, not to overweight the Bill by putting this particular clause in. I must in justice say that I do not in the least recede from the view I have taken that it would be an advantage to retain the clause. I regret that I have not been able to persuade anybody else to take the view I hold. Under our representative institutions it is occasionally necessary to defer to the opinions of other people, and in those circumstances I will not resist the Motion to omit Clause 7. Therefore the saving Amendment moved by the right hon. Baronet the Member for the Forest of Dean (Sir C. W. Dilke) must be swept away in the general ruin, so to say, of the clause.
§ Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
§ Sir F. BANBURYI move the omission of Clause 7 on the ground that this is a new clause which was added to the Bill, and that it embodies a new principle. If that principle is once embodied in the Bill it will be fatal to the industry and enterprise of this country. If the right hon. Gentleman is going to accept the Amendment I need not pursue the subject further.
§ Mr. W. C. BRIDGEMANIn seconding the Amendment, I think it is only necessary to say, without going into the merits of the case, that I am very glad that the right hon. Gentleman has acceded to the representations made to him that it is not desirable this clause should be included in the Bill.
§ Question, "That Clause 7 be omitted," put, and agreed to.