HC Deb 27 April 1914 vol 61 cc1348-51
Sir HENRY CRAIK

I desire to ask a question, of which I have given private notice, which I put in view of the desire felt in many quarters of the House to know how we stand with reference to any opportunity of arriving at a settlement of the grave questions that now face us: Whether the procedure at the Suggestion stage of a Bill provided for under Section 2, Sub-section (4), of the Parliament Act, comes within any existing Standing Order or Rule of Procedure of the House, and, in particular, whether in your opinion Amendments which are not to be inserted in the Bill, but are to be suggestions for the consideration of the House of Lords, fall to be discussed as Resolutions of the House, or are to be moved in Committee, or whether they must go through both stages, and what Rules of Debate shall apply to them, and to the order of procedure in which they can be discussed?

Mr. SPEAKER

There are no Standing Orders which relate to the Suggestion stage. With regard to the Rule of Procedure under which those suggestions would be taken, I think that, if no Standing Orders were passed applying to them, they would come under the ordinary procedure applicable to all Resolutions of the House. There would, therefore, not be a Committee stage with regard to them. They would be discussed as Resolutions, and there would only be the one stage for them to go through. As to the order in which they would be discussed, I think that must wait until I see how many there are on the Paper, and what time the Government propose to give for their discussion. The Government might select certain suggestions of this kind and star those suggestions or put them in a position to be discussed. The order, therefore, will probably be taken out of my hands. I am afraid that is all the information I can give to the hon. Gentleman at present.

Sir HENRY CRAIK

Will the House be given any opportunity of considering these Resolutions as a whole, which might, if taken together, really transform the Bill, or must they simply be discussed as separate Resolutions taken separately?

Mr. SPEAKER

As far as I can see at present, every suggestion will have to be taken separately. There might be one, two or more, and some might be agreed to and some disagreed to. I do not see any other way.

Lord ROBERT CECIL

May I ask whether, as a matter of form, the Resolutions ought to be in the form of Amendments to the Bill, or ought they to be in any general form suggesting that some such Amendment should be made?

Mr. SPEAKER

I think that they must be in the form in which a good many have been given notice of. For instance, I find here one in the name of the hon. Member for Watford (Mr. Arnold Ward) a Motion as follows:— That, pursuant to the Parliament Act, 1911, this House suggests as an Amendment to the Government of Ire-and Bill the following new Clause to be inserted in that Bill:— I think that would be about the correct form. I would remind the Noble Lord that we have already had a Suggestion stage last year. I think that the form then adopted is the correct form to follow.

Mr. MacCALLUM SCOTT

Is it not a fact that the only thing that stands between us is the refusal of the Leader of the Opposition to state whether they will accept the general principle?

Mr. SPEAKER

That is not for me to say.

Mr. BRIDGEMAN

May I ask whether it is in the power of the Government to refuse any suggestions? I understand you, Mr. Speaker, to say that the Government have the choice whether they would allow any suggestions to be discussed. Is it within their power, under the Parliament Act, to refuse to allow any discussion?

Mr. SPEAKER

The matter works out in this way: The Government have control of the greater part of the time of the House, and if they do not choose to find time for the discussion of suggestions, hon. Members have got to find that time for themselves; but on the assumption that the Government propose to find time for suggestions, it would also be open to the Government to find time for a particular suggestion, but not necessarily for all.

Mr. PRINGLE

Is it not the case that on the only occasion when this opportunity was exercised by the Opposition, an opportunity was given for the discussion of all the suggestions made by the Opposition on the Scottish Land Bill?

Mr. SPEAKER

I think there was time given, and there only happened to be, as far as I remember, one suggestion, and that did not occupy the whole of the time. If there had been more they probably would have been discussed up to the closing hour.

Mr. HARRY LAWSON

I wish to ask you, Mr. Speaker, whether a Resolution passed on the Motion of a private Member in the ordinary way would count as a suggestion on the Government of Ireland Bill?

Mr. SPEAKER

It would become, as soon as it was agreed to, a Resolution of this House, and it would then, under the Act of Parliament, go up in due course to the other House, whoever proposed it.

Mr. JAMES HOPE

Would it be in order to move that the House should now consider the suggestions on the Paper?

Mr. SPEAKER

That would lead to a superfluous Debate.