HC Deb 21 December 1927 vol 212 cc536-8

"A. The Minister may if he thinks fit by Regulations prescribe the conditions with which reflectors carried on vehicles in accordance with the provisions of this Act or of any Regulations made thereunder must comply and the position and manner in which they are to be attached."

Lords Amendment read a Second time.

Colonel ASHLEY

I beg to move, "That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said Amendment."

Mr. E. BROWN

It is unfortunate that we should have to discuss these Amendments under these circumstances, as the Amendments are not on the Paper, and I think we ought to have an explanation of this one.

Mr. BUCHANAN

Some of us have granted a fair amount of licence to the Government to take their business to-day unopposed, because we wanted to raise one or two questions on the Motion for the Adjournment. As some of us have acquiesced in that arrangement, it is unfair for the Government to take 40 Lords Amendments and thus deprive us of valuable time.

Colonel ASHLEY

I do not wish to treat the House with any discourtesy, and I would not dream of trying to put Amendments through without discussion which were really of substance, but I can assure hon. Members that these are really drafting Amendments. It is within the recollection of the House that there was no Report stage of this Bill in the House of Commons, and therefore we were not able to do the tidying-up that is always done on that stage, and it had to be done in another place. As to the point raised by the hon. Member for Leith (Mr. Brown), this new Sub-section gives power to the Minister to prescribe the form of red reflector which shall be carried, and I think the House will agree that it is necessary that the Minister should have power to prescribe the reflectors that are to be put on these vehicles, so as to see that they are efficient and that they carry out the purposes for which they are to be used. It is not right or proper that any sort of reflector should be allowed to be put on vehicles, and we are, in the last Amendment but one, asking the House to agree to postpone the coming into operation of this Bill till 22nd April, which is Summer Time, in order to give time for us to make Regulations and to enable reflectors to be made according to the Regulations, and the people concerned to put those reflectors on their vehicles.