§ 45. Mr. SWIFT MacNEILLasked the Prime Minister whether his attention has been directed to the various notices of opposition to the Second Reading of the Sir Stuart Montagu Samuel Indemnity Bill; whether he is aware that opposition to a Bill of Indemnity, which, being an urgent matter, is usually passed through all its stages at one sitting, is without precedent in recent times and contrary to the amenities of Parliamentary practice; and whether, if such opposition be persisted in, the House of Commons will be given an opportunity of expressing its view of this method of proceeding?
§ The PRIME MINISTER (Mr. Asquith)It is true that Bills of Indemnity for penalties incurred under Statutes have usually been passed very rapidly through all stages in the House of Commons, but I am not aware that there is anything that can be called a settled practice in such matters.