§ The following Questions stood on the Paper in the name of Mr. G. Terrell:
§ 58 & 59. To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he can give an estimate of the loss of revenue in connection with Excess Profits Duty which is involved in each of the Government Amendments to the Finance Bill,
§ (2) if he is now in a position to state the amount of Income Tax and Excess Profits Duty which is derived from British companies registered in this country, but which carry on their business abroad.
Mr. TERRELLOn a point of Order, Mr. Speaker. May I ask why I have not been called upon to put question 58?
§ Mr. SPEAKERThe hon. Member has already put three questions.
§ Mr. SPEAKERBut they are still on the Paper.
Mr. TERRELLI do not wish to quarrel with your ruling, Mr. Speaker, but when a question is put on the Paper by mistake and other questions are there in perfect good faith, I venture to suggest that an hon. Member should be allowed to ask the questions put down properly on the Paper. Questions 51 and 52 were put down for to-day by mistake.
§ Mr. SPEAKERThe hon. Member should be careful to avoid such mistakes.
§ Mr. SPEAKERTime is very short, and if I listen to the hon. Member he 1080 would be only preventing other hon. Members putting their questions. If he wishes to raise any further point, he can do so at the conclusion of questions.
§ At the end of questions—
Mr. TERRELLI desire to ask your ruling, Mr. Speaker, on a point of Order. Why have you not called upon me to ask questions 58 and 59? These two questions have been on the Order Paper for some days, and were perfectly in order. Questions 51, 52 and 53 were transferred yesterday by a mistake until to-day, in ignorance of the fact that they had been already answered. They were, therefore, out of order according to the understanding at which the House has arrived. Questions 58 and 59 were, I suggest, perfectly in order and I, therefore, ask your ruling why I am not called upon to put them to Ministers?
§ Mr. SPEAKERThe reply is that I had already called upon the hon. Member to ask questions 51, 52 and 53. If he had not wished these questions to appear on the Paper he might have given notice last night up till eleven o'clock to take them off.
Mr. TERRELLI called your attention before the Questions were reached to the fact that they were withdrawn. They only appeared on the Order Paper this morning for the first time. They were withdrawn before they were reached, and I submit I should have been called upon to ask questions 58 and 59.
§ Mr. SPEAKERI think the hon. Member is incorrect in saying that they appeared for the first time on the Order Paper to-day. They were on the Order Book last night; otherwise they could not have been here to-day, and it was open to the hon. Member to have these questions removed if he did not wish them to be asked. I cannot superintend this business on behalf of every hon. Member. Each hon. Member must look after himself.
§ Mr. BILLINGWhere questions are postponed at the request of Ministers, do they count among the three questions allowed to be asked? Is it the question which is called or the question actually asked that ranks?
§ Mr. SPEAKERWe should get into a hopeless tangle if we had to consider the genesis of every question and its history up to the time of its being asked. It is 1081 not for me to tell an hon. Member that he has more than three questions on the Paper. If he has more than three, I cannot call upon him to ask those in excess of that number.