MILITARY MANŒUVRES ACT, 1897. (ORDER IN COUNCIL.) (Hansard, 6 April 1911)

§ Mr. CARLILE
On a point of Order, Mr. Speaker, may I ask your ruling as to whether this draft Order in Council can now be taken in the form in which it stands upon the Paper? The draft Order in Council refers to a number of counties and states that drafts have been presented to this House on the 7th of February. No drafts of these counties were presented to the House upon the 7th February, with the exception of one for the County of Ayr. I ask your ruling whether in these circumstances the Motion is in order and can be taken now?

§ The UNDER-SECRETARY of STATE for WAR (Colonel Seely)
On the point of Order, I was about to move Amendments of which I have given notice at the Table on that very point, and if it would be for the convenience of the House I will explain them. The difficulty arises from 2546 the fact that whereas the Orders arrived simultaneously they were not printed until successive days.

§ Mr. CARLILE
If the draft Orders were not presented on the day named in the Motion, can it be taken, or can only that portion be taken in reference to the draft which concerns the County of Ayr, which undoubtedly was presented?

§ Mr. SPEAKER
When a Resolution is proposed it is always capable of Amendment. I see no objection to amending it. If from the Resolution as it stands it appears that some of the Orders were not presented on the 7th February, the Motion can only apply to those presented on the 7th February.

§ Colonel SEELY
I was about to move the following two Amendments. Perhaps I may formally move them now, and then make any explanation the House may wish for upon the general question. I beg therefore to move after the word "House" ["drafts of which were presented to the House"] to insert the words "as to the County of Ayr," and after the word "day" ["on the 7th day of February"] to insert the words "and as to the other counties on the eighth day." The reason for this is that whereas these two draft Orders were duly despatched to the House from the War Office on the 7th day of February and deposited in proper form, by a clerical error only one appeared in the Votes and Proceedings on the 7th day of February. The mistake was observed, and the other Order, both of which lay on the Table in the Library, was found in the Votes and Proceedings on the 8th of February. In drafting this Motion it was not observed until more than five weeks afterwards that that error had been committed with regard to the 7th and 8th, and the technical objection arises which the hon. Member has now called attention to. If this Amendment be accepted I think the Motion will be strictly in order, and we can then proceed to discuss the Motion as amended.

§ Lord BALCARRES
This Motion first appeared on the Paper the day before yesterday. It would be convenient, having discovered the mistake which occurred five weeks ago, if the right hon. Gentleman had put his Address to the Throne down in a properly amended form. It could have been put down in the correct form yesterday. I think it is a pity that this mistake should have occurred. My 2547 reason for rising is that the right hon. Gentleman two nights ago indicated that owing to some error in the Vote Office these Papers were not to be found. Upon inquiry I find that the Papers never were received there, and therefore the officials concerned were in no way to be blamed. The responsibility for the error lies elsewhere.

§ Colonel SEELY
I have had two copies placed in the Vote Office since yesterday afternoon. This is only an Amendment of form, and it states on the face of it that this refers to the counties specified. Therefore nobody can be under any misapprehension as to what we are voting for now. It was a clerical error for which neither the War Office or anyone else could be accountable.