HC Deb 08 December 1919 vol 122 cc1092-3

  1. (1)The number of jurymen to be empanelled and sworn for the trial of any action in a County Court shall be eight, and the amount to be paid to the registrar for payment of the jury shall be eight shillings.
  2. (2)The amount which a juryman may be ordered to forfeit in default of attendance shall not be more than five pounds.
  3. (3)Sections one hundred and one and one hundred and two of the principal Act shall have effect subject to the provisions of this Section.

Sir G. HEWART

I beg to move, at the end of Sub-section (2), to insert (3) The list of persons qualified and liable to serve as jurors in a Court shall not be delivered by the sheriff or high bailiff to the registrar of the Court unless and until a demand is made by the registrar in that behalf.

Captain BENN

I beg to move, "That the Chairman do report Progress, and ask leave to sit again."

We have had the Second Reading of a Bill which has just been circulated. We have now had all the Clauses up to Clause 21 put without one single word of explanation. The right hon. Gentleman says, Why do we complain? I should like to point out that we are not putting these proposals before the House; it is the Government who are doing that. I think that, out of respect to the House, and without any disrespect to the Bill, at least some slight explanation could have been given of what all this legislation is. Now we have come to Clause 22, to which an Amendment is proposed, to which I understand there is no objection. There is no explanation of that Amendment.

Question, "That the Chairman do report Progress, and ask leave to sit again," put, and negatived.

Question, again proposed, "That those words be there inserted."

Sir G. HEWART

Perhaps I ought to have risen before in order briefly to explain the purpose of this Amendment. It is the most simple of all Amendments. As no doubt hon. Members are aware, under the law as it now stands, the lists of persons qualified to serve as jurors must be delivered to Registrars of County Courts, whether they want them or not, by the sheriffs of counties. It happens very often that these lists are not wanted. But at present they must be delivered and paid for. All that is provided by the Amend- ment is that these lists shall not be delivered unless and until they areasked for. It is a simple measure of obvious economy.

Amendment agreed to.

Clause, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clauses 23, 24, and 25 ordered to stand part of the Bill.