§ 23. Mr. G. THORNEasked the President of the Board of Trade whether the present Law Officers, or their predecessors, have at any time given a written opinion that any of the proclamations affecting articles other than arms and ammunition issued under Section 43 of the Customs Consolidation Act, 1876, were legal; if so, who were the Law Officers; and will he lay the opinion before the House?
§ 24. Captain WEDGWOOD BENNasked the President of the Board of Trade who were the Law Officers of the Crown responsible for the Regulation which was declared illegal by the recent Sankey decision?
§ Sir A. GEDDESThe Proclamation affecting pyrogallic acid was not itself referred to any Law Officer, but was issued in 1919 as the thirty-second of the series founded on the precedent established in the first half of 1915 and acted on by all the Governments which have been in office since the outbreak of war. It is not and never has been the custom to refer to the Law Officers Regulations which involve no departure from accepted precedent. In view of the interest attaching to this matter, I propose to have circulated in the OFFICIAL REPORT a full list of the Proclamations, showing the dates of their issue.
The following is the list referred to:
| Number of Proclamation. | Date of Proclamation. | Articles covered. | Moditicutions to Previons Proclamations. | ||
| through the post. Tobacco, unmanufactured, and manufactured (including cigars and cigarettes). Furniture woods, hard woods and veiieei'e, stones and slates. | |||||
| — | 10 Mar., 1916 | … | Canned, bottled, dried and preserved fruits, except currants. | ||
| NO. 3 | … | 21 " | … | Motor cars, chassis, motor cycles and parts, etc. | |
| Musical instruments. Spirits except brandy and rum. | |||||
| " 4 | … | 30 " | … | Baskets and basket ware (except baskets and basket ware of bamboo). Cement, china ware, earthenware and pottery, not including cloisonne wares. Cotton yarn, cotton piece goods, and cotton manufactures of all kinds, except hosiery and lace. Cutlery, fatty acids. Furniture, manufactured joinery and other wood manufactures, except lacquered wares. Hardware and hollow-ware. Oilcloth. Soap. Toys, games, and playing cards. Wood and timber of the following kinds, namely, beech, birch, elm, and oak. Woollen and worsted manufactures of all kinds, except yarns. | |
| " 5 | … | 10 May " | … | Bladders, casings and sausage skins. Brooms and brushes. Bulbs, flower roots, plants, trees and shrubs. Canned, bottled, dried and preserved vegetables and pickles. Horns and hoofs. Ice, ivory, vegetable. Moss, litter, salt, starch, dextrine, farina and potato flour. | |
| " 6 | … | 1 June " | … | Aluminium manufactures, baths of metal, beer, carpet sweepers, cash registers, hops, lawn mowers, leather manufactures, matches, sewing machines, stoves,; and ranges, toilet articles containing glycerine, wringers and mangles. | Starch, etc. revoked. |
| " 7 | … | 27" | … | Motor Cars, chassis and parts previously exempted, vacuum cleaners, yeast. | |
| " 8 | … | 27 July ". | … | Air guns and rifles, sporting guns, carbines and rifles, oranges. | |
| " 9 | … | 18 Aug. ". | … | Chestnut extract, lacquered wares, glass, window and sheet, glass plate, table ware of glass. | |
| ., 1O | … | 3 Oct. " | … | Aluminium powder, birds (live), bone, horn, ivory and celluloid manufactures, cotton hosiery. | Oranges revoked |
| 11 | … | 16 Nov. " | … | Jewellery and all manufactures of gold and silver other than watches and watch cases. | |
| " 12 | … | 5 Dec. | .… | Gold, manufactured or unmanufactured, including gold coin. All manufactures of silver other than silver watches and watch cases. Jewellery of any description. | Proclamation No. 11 revoked. |
| Number of Proclamation. | Date of Proclamation. | Articles covered. | Modifications to previous Proclamations. | ||
| — | 11 Dec., 1916 | … | Cocaine and opium (Home Office). | ||
| No. 13 | … | 22 " | … | Automatic machines, military rifles and carbines, miniature and cadet rifles and carbines, revolvers and pistols. | Cotton hosiery revoked. |
| " 14 | … | 23 Feb., 1917 | … | Aerated, mineral and table waters, agricultural machinery, antimony ware, apparel, not waterproofed (except boots and shoes), works of art baskets and basketware of bamboo, books, printed, and other printed matter including printed posters and daily, weekly and other periodical publications imported otherwise than in single copies through the post. Boots and shoes of leather, and materials used for the manufactures thereof, not already prohibited. Brandy, clocks and parts thereof, cloisonne wares, cocoa, preparations of cocoa raw, coffee, cotton hosiery, cotton lace and article? thereof. Curios, diatomite and infusorial earth, embroidery and needlework, fancy goods, known as Paris goods, feathers, ornamental and down, fire ex tinguishers, flowers, artificial, flowers, fresh, fruit, raw, of all descriptions (except lemons and bitter oranges), and almonds and nuts used as fruit. Glass manufactures not already prohibited, gloves, hats and bonnets, hides wet aaci dry, incandescent gas mantles, jute, raw. leather, dressed and undressed, linen, yarns and manufactures of, lobsters, canned, mats and matting, mops, painters' colours and pigments, per fumery, photographic apparatus, pic tures, prints, engravings, photographs and maps, plated and gilt wares, quails, live, quebracho, hemlock, oak, and mangrove extracts, rum, salmon, canned, silk, manufactures of, not including silk yarns, skins and furs, manufactures of Soya beans, stereoscopes, straw envelopes for bottles, straw plaiting, sugar, articles and preparations containing used for food (except condensed milk), tea, tomatoes, typewriters, wine, wood and timber of all kinds, hewn, sawn or split, planed or dressed. | |
| Consolidation and Amendment | 30 Mar. " | … | — | All preceding prohibitions revoked. | |
| ". 16 | … | 10 May " | … | Animals wild, gum copal, gum kauri, manufactures of rubber. |
| Number of Proclamation. | Date of Proclamation. | Articles covered. | Moditicutions to Previons Proclamations. | ||
| No. 17 | … | 28 June, 1917 | Carbons for are lamps, carbons for search lights, cartridges, electric dry cells and carbons therefor. | ||
| " 18 | … | 22 Aug. " | … | All machinery driven by power and suit able for use in cutting, working or operating on wood, electrical motors up to one-half horse-power. | |
| " 19 | … | 29 " | … | Bacon, butter, hams, lard. | |
| " 20 | … | 16 Nov. " | … | Abrasive wheels, binder or reaper twine, brass rod and brass wire, cycles other than motor cycles, electric motors, electrical motors over one-half horse power, electric hand lamps and torches, magnetos, measuring tapes and rules of all descriptions, including vermers, micrometers, pens, penholders, pencils, and all other stationery of which the;importation is not already prohibited, vegetables in brine. | |
| " 21. | … | 21 Dec " | … | Bonds, debentures, stock, etc. (Treasury). | |
| " 22 | … | 16 Jan., 1918 | … | Antimony ore, antimony crude and regulus, antimony sulphide, carpets and rugs. | |
| " 23 | … | 22 Mar. " | … | Molasses, etc., plaiting, rattans and malacca canes, weighing machines, wood flour. | |
| " 24 | … | 13 April | … | Booots, shoes and slippers, brislings, herrings, sprats and mousses, tinned in oil, etc. | |
| " 25 | … | 4 June " | … | Cheese, fuses, motor spirit, kerosene, gas oil, sugar cane, treadle lathes of 3 inch centres and over, fuel oil. | |
| " 26. | … | 2 Aug. " | … | Canes of all descriptions, crabs, prawns, shrimps and oysters canned, red prussiate of potash. | |
| " 27 | … | 27 Sept. " | … | Cassia lignea, fibre flax seed for sowing pimento, spectacles, time recording instruments and parts, watches and parts. | |
| " 28 | … | 8 Nov. " | … | Oleo stearine and tallow, olive oil, onions. | |
| " 29 | … | 24Feb.1919 | … | Coal tar derivatives, colours. | |
| " 30 | … | 28 Mar. " | … | Rouble notes (Treasury). | |
| " 31 | … | 8 May | … | Potash salts, saccharin. | |
| " 32 | … | 25 June " | … | Chemicals, electrical goods and apparatus, scientific etc., instruments, tungsten powder, and ferro tungsten. |
§ Captain BENNWas the case of the legality of these Proclamations over submitted to any Law Officers, and are any of their opinions in existence in writing, and, if so, whose?
§ Sir A. GEDDESI know nothing of the circumstances in which the first Proclamation was issued. It was issued on the authority of the Cabinet, of whose internal 982 doings I know nothing. From that time forward no opinion of the Law Officers has been taken without reference to existing precedents, and, therefore, no opinion of the Law Officers is independent of the precedents which exist.
§ Sir D. MACLEANIs it not a fact that there are no written opinions on this point by either Lord Buckmaster or Sir John 983 Simon, and is it not a fact that such written opinion as there is is of Law Officers who are not either of these two gentlemen named, and, if that is the case, was not the right hon. Gentleman wholly incorrect when he gave the answer he did last Thursday?
§ Sir A. GEDDESI cannot agree that I was wholly or even partially incorrect. The first Proclamation was issued at the time when these two gentlemen were the Law Officers of the Crown. They may not have been consulted. I do not know.
§ Captain BENNYou said so.
§ Sir A. GEDDESThey were the responsible Law Officers. A member of the Cabinet, as Sir John Simon was, cannot divest himself of his responsibility.
§ Captain BENNNo; he was not!
§ Sir A. GEDDESThere has been no law opinion of any Law Officer taken independent of the existing precedents. It may be of some interest that there is a pre-war precedent in the case of Holman v. Hill, in which there is a decision based upon a judgment of three Irish judges which is very relevant.
§ Sir D. MACLEANThe right hon. Gentleman has not answered my specific question. Is there a written opinion by Law Officers on this point, and, if so, who are the Law Officers who gave that opinion?
§ Sir A. GEDDESI have, I think, answered the question. There is no opinion expressed by any Law Officer subsequently to the institution at the beginning of this procedure, which does not take into account the precedents established.
§ Sir D. MACLEANrose—
§ Mr. SPEAKERThere are 232 questions on the Paper.
§ 87. Mr. NEWBOULDasked the Prime Minister whether, in view of the Government's intention to pass legislation to deal with Mr. Justice Sankey's decision in the case of import prohibitions, it was intended further to use public money on appeals to the Court of Appeal and the House of Lords?
Mr. SONAR LAW (Leader of the House)The decision referred to is at present under appeal to the Court of Appeal, and the appeal will pro- 984 ceed. The present decision seems to be to some extent at variance with a decision of a Court of three judges in Ireland upon the construction of the same Section of the Statute.
§ Captain BENNWhen the representative of the Board of Trade on 11th August and Lord Somerleyton on 26th August in another place stated that the Cabinet had consulted the Law Officers and were advised that they were right, who were the Law Officers referred to?
§ Captain BENNI have already given notice.
§ Mr. BONAR LAWThe answer, I believe, has already been given. Does the hon. and gallant Member refer to the time it was undertaken, or to a later stage?
§ Captain BENNWhen the representative of the Board of Trade said, "We have consulted the Law Officers, and are advised that we are within the limits of the law," who were the Law Officers to whom reference was made?
§ Mr. BONAR LAWI cannot say.