HC Deb 15 December 1925 vol 189 cc1235-6

Considered in Committee. [Progress, 14th December.]

[Captain FITZROY in the Chair.]

Mr. SNOWDEN

It might be for the convenience of the Committee, Captain FitzRoy, if you would be good enough to indicate now the main Amendments you propose to take. If the Committee were in possession of that information, it would then be easier to allocate the time as between different Amendments, in relation to their respective importance.

4.0 P.M.

The DEPUTY-CHAIRMAN

I do not know whether I am correctly informed, but I understand that Members in various parts of the House are agreed that the discussion on this stage of the Bill should end about midnight, and, if that be so, I think it would be for the convenience of the Committee if we could come to some arrangement to bring the discussion on the First Schedule to an end about half-past nine or ten o'clock so as to give adequate time for the discussion of the Second Schedule. My idea was to call the second Amendment on the Paper— First Schedule, page 3, line 8, column 1, at the end, to insert the words and any knife used normally as part of the material or equipment used in any trade, industry, or occupation pursued as a means of livelihood "— standing in the name of the right hon. Gentleman the Member for West Swansea (Mr. Runciman) and others, then the next Amendment standing in the name of the hon. Member for Hillsborough (Mr. A. V. Alexander)—page 3, line 11, column 2, to leave out the words "thirty-three and one-third," and to insert instead thereof the word "five"—and after that one standing in the name of the hon. Member for Keighley (Mr. Lees-Smith)—page 3, column 1, to leave out lines 12 and 13. Then there are several Amendments in this Paper which deal with questions which we discussed at some length on the Resolution, so the next Amendment I pro- pose to select is the one standing in the name of the hon. Member for Peckham (Mr. Dalton)—page 3, column 1, to leave out lines 16 and 17—and then the next Amendment standing in the name of the hon. Member for Finsbury (Mr. Gillett)— page 3, column 1, to leave out lines 18 and 19. With regard to the Amendments referring to other articles in the Schedule, I am in the hands of the Committee as to what they would like to discuss on that part of the Schedule. Perhaps in the course of the Debate they will let me know.