HC Deb 20 July 1915 vol 73 cc1449-51

(1) Section two of the Trading with the Enemy Amendment Act, 1914 (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act), which relates to the payment to the custodian of dividends, interest, and profits payable to or for the benefit of enemies, shall extend to sums which, had a state of war not existed, would have been payable and paid in the United Kingdom to enemies:—

  1. (a) in respect of interest on securities issued by or on behalf of the Government or the Government of any of His Majesty's Dominions or any foreign Government, or by or on behalf of any corporation or any municipal or other authority whether within or without the United Kingdom; and
  2. (b) by way of payment off of any securities which have become repayable on maturity or by being drawn for payment or otherwise, being such securities as aforesaid or securities issued by any company;
and in the case of such sums as aforesaid (other than sums in respect of the payment off of securities issued by a company) the duty of making payments to the custodian and of requiring payments to be made to him and of furnishing him with particulars shall rest with the person, firm or company through whom the payments in the United Kingdom are made, and the said Section shall apply accordingly, and as if for references therein to the date of the passing of the principal Act there were substituted references to the date of the passing of this Act.

(2) Where the custodian is satisfied from returns made to him under Section three of the principal Act that any such securities as aforesaid (including securities issued by a company) are held by any person on behalf of an enemy, the custodian may give notice thereof to the person, firm or company by or through whom any dividends interest or bonus in respect of the securities or any sums by way of payment off of the securities are payable, and upon the receipt of such notice any dividends interest or bonus payable in respect of, and any sums by way of payment off of, the securities to which the notice relates shall be paid to the custodian in like manner as if the securities were held by an enemy.

(3) For the purposes of this Section "securities" includes stock, shares, annuities, bonds, debentures or debenture stock or other obligations.

Motion made, and Question proposed, "That the Clause stand part of the Bill."

Mr. CAVE

Perhaps the right hon. Gentleman would let us know something about this Clause.

The SOLICITOR-GENERAL (Sir F. E. Smith)

The effect of Clause 1 is such that it is not very likely to provoke any very attractive Debate. The Trading with the Enemy Amendment Act, 1914, which was an emergency Act, provided that in cases where dividends, interests, and profits were payable to or for the benefit of enemy subjects in this War such payments should be diverted, and should be handed over to a custodian, the custodian in question being the Public Trustee. It was found when this Act was in operation that there was a not inconsiderable omission, because in the hurry of drafting it the case of dividends and interests on securities issued by or on behalf of the Government had per incuriam been omitted from the scope of the Act. It will probably be the view of the Committee that the same principle which applied to dividends, which in ordinary cases were payable to alien enemies, should be made applicable to cases where the interest on securities issued by the Government would otherwise be payable to alien enemies. There are certain subsidiary provisions, but what I have stated is the effect of the Clause.

Sir F. BANBURY

We are much obliged for the explanation, which apparently is that, owing to the hurry in which the original Act was passed, the mistake occurred. Is it wise, therefore, when you are rectifying a, mistake which occurred in that way to be in a very great hurry about this Bill, and to propose to take all its stages to-night? I am not particularly objecting, but I think it is a mistake to do so. I do not refer to this particular Bill, but I do hope, in the case of further Bills, that we will take the Second Reading only, and then take the Committee and Report stages and the Third Reading if necessary on another day, and not all the stages on the one day.

Sir F. E. SMITH

If there is any general feeling in the Committee that they would like to consider the Bill a little more attentively, there is not the slightest desire to prevent them from doing so. But if nobody who has read the Bill can suggest any one objection to any one of its Clauses I would suggest, without prejudice to the general force of the hon. Baronet's objection as applied to other Bills, that this Bill might be allowed to pass.

Sir F. BANBURY

I do not object.

Clause ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Bill reported, without Amendment; read the third time, and passed.