BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE. (Hansard, 15 May 1919)

§ Mr. ADAMSON
I beg to ask the Leader of the House what business it is proposed to take next week, and whether he can make any announcement as to the Whitsuntide holidays?

§ Mr. BONAR LAW
I am sorry I cannot yet make any statement about Whitsuntide holidays. As regards the business—
Monday, Supply (Ministry of Munitions Vote).
Tuesday, Second Reading of the Finance Bill.
Wednesday, Disabled Men (Facilities for Employment) Bill, the Anthrax Bill, War Obligations Bill, and some other smaller measures.
Thursday, the Indian Budget. The Ballot for Amendments on this will be taken on Monday.

§ Sir C. KINLOCH-COOKE
Will an opportunity be given to discuss the recommendations of the Jerram Report and the decisions of the War Cabinet with regard to them?

§ Mr. BONAR LAW
An opportunity will arise in connection with the Navy Estimates, which I hope will be satisfactory to the House.

§ Sir C. KINLOCH-COOKE
Can the right hon. Gentleman say when the Navy Estimates are likely to be taken?

§ Mr. BONAR LAW
I cannot say, but they cannot possibly be taken before Whitsuntide.

§ Colonel Sir ROBERT WILLIAMS
May I mention that the business for Monday, the Munitions Vote, is singularly unfortunate? The right hon. Gentleman is aware that the Comptroller and Auditor-General's Report of the Munitions Vote appeared only last week and that there have been in the papers some very unfair strictures on the Ministry founded upon expressions in that Report. The Public Accounts Committee has to-day, the first opportunity, begun the consideration of the Report of the Comptroller and Auditor-General on the Ministry of Munitions Vote, and will very soon be in a position to make a Report to the House. In the meanwhile, the discussion in the House next Monday on that Vote must be hampered by the fact that the Report of the Comptroller and Auditor-General is 1775 merely a prima facie one and has not been reported to the House by the House's own Committee. It will also rather harm the work of the Public Accounts Committee if some of the questions have been prejudged publicly in the House before they have been examined by the Committee. I say these things because the right hon. Gentleman the Member for the Camborne Division (Mr. Acland), who is the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee now, feels the same as I do, and has asked me to come down here and say this because he cannot do it himself as he is actually sitting on the Committee dealing with the Munitions Report at the present time.

§ Mr. BONAR LAW
As my right hon. Friend knows, the allocation of these Votes does not depend on the Government. This Vote was fixed and agreed upon, and I do not think it is possible now to alter it. There is a great deal of truth, in my opinion, in the statement made by my right hon. Friend, and I am sure that the House in discussing this Vote will take into consideration the facts that he has raised, and I am not quite sure that it is not a good thing, when so much is made in the Press of prejudicial statements, that something should be said about them immediately in the House of Commons.

§ Mr. HOGGE
May I suggest that if we cannot discuss the Comptroller and Auditor-General's Report before the Public Accounts Committee has considered it, there is no reason why between now and Monday another Vote might not be fixed.

§ Mr. BONAR LAW
I understood it was my hon. Friend who asked for this Vote.

§ Mr. HOGGE
Yes; but we had no knowledge then that the Public Accounts Committee had not discussed the Report, and as that Committee is a Committee of the Whole House, obviously the House does not want to come between them and their criticism of the Report. Now that that has come to our knowledge, it might be possible between now and to-morrow to agree upon a fresh Vote which might meet the wishes of the Whole House for discussion on Monday.

§ Mr. BONAR LAW
I am quite ready that that matter should be discussed.

§ Mr. BOTTOMLEY
Would it not solve the difficulty if we took Indemnities on Monday?

§ Mr. BONAR LAW
Yes; it would solve that difficulty, but it would raise some others.

§ Mr. G. TERRELL
May I ask when the Second Reading of the Restoration of Pre-war Practices Bill will be proceeded with?

§ Mr. BONAR LAW
Perhaps my hon. Friend will give me notice of that. I must consult the Ministry concerned.