AGRICULTURAL HOLDINGS (SCOTLAND) ACT (1908) AMENDMENT BILL. (Hansard, 15 July 1910)

§ Mr. CHARLES BATHURST

I should like to raise one or two questions with regard to this Bill. In the fifth line of the first Clause, which is, of course, the beginning of the operative part of the Bill, 804 we find "notwithstanding anything in Section 11 of the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act (1908) contained that section shall not apply to valuations," etc. I venture to suggest to the Lord Advocate that Section 5 of the Act of 1908 ought to be specifically excepted also from the operation of this Clause. Section 5 is as follows: "Subject to the foregoing provisions of this Act any contract or agreement made by the tenant of a holding by virtue of which he is deprived of his right to claim compensation under this Act in respect of any improvement comprised in the first Schedule hereto shall be void so far as it deprives him of that right." It is perfectly clear from reference to the first part of the first Schedule that there is one item at any rate which will be affected by this Bill and is included under the terms of Section 5. That is the item of fencing. There is just one other point to which I would direct the Lord Advocate's attention. In lines 13 and 14 of the first Clause of the Bill the expression is used: "Whether such valuations and questions are referred to arbitration under the lease or not." It is perfectly clear on reference to Section 11 of the principal Act to which this Bill refers that that section refers only to questions which under the Act or under a lease are referred to arbitration. Consequently there appears to be no reason whatever why the last lines of the first Clause should be allowed to stand. It is a little difficult to see what these lines are intended to convey. I submit these two points to the right hon. Gentleman, and in both these respects it seems to me the drafting is bad and a little misleading.