§ (1) The powers, privileges, and immunities of the House of Commons of Southern Ireland and the House of Commons of Northern Ireland, and of the Members and of the Committees thereof, shall be such as may be defined by Act of the Parliament in question, but so that they shall never exceed those for the time being held and enjoyed by the Commons House of Parliament of the United Kingdom and its Members and Committees, and, until so defined, shall be those held and enjoyed by the Commons House of Parliament of the United Kingdom and its Members and Committees at the date of the passing of this Act.
§ (2) The law for the time being in force relating to the qualification and disqualification of the Members of the Commons House of Parliament of the United Kingdom, and the taking of any oath required to be taken by a Member of that House, shall apply to the Members of the House of Commons of Southern Ireland and Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland.
§ (3) A person shall not be disqualified for being a Member of the House of Commons of Southern Ireland or a Member of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland by reason only that he is a peer, whether of the United Kingdom, Great Britain, England, Scotland, or Ireland.
§ (4) A Member of the House of Commons of Southern Ireland or Northern Ireland may resign his seat by giving notice of resignation to the person and in the manner directed by Standing Orders of the House, or, if there is no such direction, by notice in writing of resignation sent to the Lord Lieutenant, and his seat shall become vacant on notice of resignation being given.
§ (5) The powers of the House of Commons of Southern Ireland or Northern Ireland shall not be affected by any vacancy therein, or by any defect in the nomination, election, or qualification of any Member thereof.
§ (6) His Majesty may by Order in Council declare that the holders of the offices in the 1222 executive of Southern Ireland and Northern Ireland named in the Order shall not be disqualified for being Members of the House of Commons of Southern Ireland and Northern Ireland respectively by reason of holding office under the Crown, and, except as otherwise provided by Act of the Parliament of Southern Ireland or Northern Ireland, the Order shall have effect as if it were enacted in this Act, but on acceptance of any such office the seat of any such person in the House of Commons of Southern Ireland or Northern Ireland shall, except so far as the Order may otherwise provide, be vacated unless he has accepted the office in succession to some other of the said offices to which he has been appointed since being returned as a Member of that House of Commons.
§ Mr. INSKIPI beg to move, in Subsection (1), to leave out the words "but so that they shall never exceed those for the time being held and enjoyed by the Commons House of Parliament of the United Kingdom and its Members and Committees." It is proposed that
The powers, privileges, and immunities of the House of Commons of Southern Ireland and the House of Commons of Northern Ireland, and of the Members and of the Committees thereof, shall be such as may be defined by Act of the Parliament in question",and then follow the words which I propose to leave out. I apprehend that this will be a difficult matter for this House of Parliament to accomplish. They will have to put into a Bill, to begin with, matters which at present are not included in a Bill so far as this House is concerned, but which are matters of rule or custom which have been slowly evolved into the history of this Parliament. It means that they shall either be content to revert to our privileges here, or they may put privileges into their own Act of Parliament, but so that they shall never exceed those for the time being held and enjoyed by this House. That will require an exact knowledge of the Parliamentary procedure and history of this House, which it will be very difficult to have.
§ Amendment agreed to.
§ The CHAIRMANThe Amendments which stand in the names of the hon. Member for Hampstead (Mr. G. Balfour) and the hon. Member for Wood Green (Mr. G. Locker-Lampson) are both Amendments which should be in the form of new Clauses.
§ Mr. REIDI beg to move, in Sub-section (6), to leave out the words, "except so far as the Order may otherwise provide," and insert instead thereof the word "not."
§ Amendment agreed to.
§
Further Amendment made: In Subsection (6), leave out the words:
unless he has accepted the office in succession to some other of the said offices to which he has been appointed since being returned as a Member of that House of Commons."—[Mr. Reid.]
§ Clause, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill