HC Deb 13 July 1915 vol 73 c763

Section two of the Finance Act, 1912, is hereby repealed.

Mr. SPEAKER

This Clause imposes a charge.

Mr. HENDERSON

Of course, I accept jour ruling upon that, but I should like to appeal to the Chancellor of the Exchequer to carry out the promise made by his predecessor.

Mr. SPEAKER

The hon. Gentleman would be out of order in going into that here.

Sir F. BANBURY

On a point of Order. This Clause was put into the Rill in 1912. It was put in by my hon. Friend, and it did then undoubtedly impose a charge, but the authorities of the House and Members at that time did not notice it. If this Clause is repealed the Bill will be in exactly the same position as in 1910, and the consequence is that the illegal action of my hon. Friend will have been put right. The point I want to raise is whether it would not be in order to put the Bill back in the state in which it was originally, when it was brought in by the Government, and from which it was altered by an illegal Motion.

Mr. SPEAKER

I do not know how it came about that the Clause was improperly put in, but there is the fact, and, if this Clause were inserted in the Bill, it would impose a new charge on a new set of people. We cannot do that on Report, and probably not in Committee without a Resolution.

Sir F. BANBURY

It would redistribute the charge.

Mr. SPEAKER

If I am entitled to recover from the hon. Baronet a particular sum of money, and an Act comes in which prevents my recovering it, he may call it a "redistribution," but I should call it a charge imposed upon me.