§ Nothing in this Part of this Act affects prejudicially any estate, right, power, privilege, or exemption of the Crown, and in particular nothing therein contained authorises the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries to take, use, or in any manner to interfere with any portion of the shore or bed of the sea or of any river, channel, creek, bay, or estuary or any land, hereditaments, subjects or rights of whatsover description belonging to His Majesty in right of His Crown and under the management of the Commissioners of Woods or of the Board of Trade respectively without the consent in writing of the Commissioners of Woods or the Board of Trade, as the case may be, on behalf of His Majesty first had and obtained for that purpose (which consent the said Commissioners and Board are hereby respectively authorised to give).
§ Lords Amendment: After the word "Majesty" ["His Majesty in right of his Crown"], insert the words "in right of the Duchy of Lancaster or."
1906§ Motion made, and Question proposed, "That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said Amendment."
§ Mr. BOOTHI think we ought to have an explanation why the Duchy of Lancaster comes in and not the Duchy of Cornwall. I quite admit that there is a difference in their relations to the State, but I think we ought to have an explanation as to the four Amendments on this Clause, and I should be glad if my hon. Friend could say why the Duchy of Lancaster is mentioned and not the Duchy of Cornwall.
§ Sir R. WINFREYI am afraid that I cannot explain exactly this point. These are saving provisions, and I understand that they are asked for by the authorities.
§ Lords Amendments:
§ After the word '"writing" ["without the consent in writing of the Commissioners"], insert the words "of the Chancellor of the Duchy or."—Agreed to.
§ After the word "said" ["which consent the said Commissioners and Board"], insert the words "Chancellor of the Duchy."—Agreed to.
§
At the end insert,
(2) Nothing in this part of this Act affects prejudicially any estate, right, power, privilege, or exemption vested in or enjoyed by the Duke of Cornwall or the possessor for the time being of the Duchy of Cornwall.
§ Motion made, and Question proposed, "That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said Amendment."
§ Mr. BOOTHI should like to know what is the necessity for this Amendment. I presume it is a Government Amendment. The difficulty I have is that the lines named on the Amendment Paper are not the lines of the printed Bill. The Amendment Paper says, "Line 25, at end"—of Clause 19—"insert," but in the printed Bill that brings us to Clause 23, which simply says that this Act may be cited as the Land Drainage Act, 1918. This, of course, is the Commons' copy. I take it it would come in about Line 18, in which case it says:
The principal Act and this Act shall apply to land belonging to His Majesty.…belonging to the Duchy of Lancaster, belonging to the Duchy of Cornwall, or such person as the Duke of Cornwall or the possessor fur the time being of the Duchy of Cornwall appoints.Then we go on to say, "Nothing in this part of this Act affects prejudicially"—
§ Sir R. WINFREYThe Amendment really comes in at the end of Clause 19.