FANCY JEWELLERY (STANDARD TRADE DESCRIPTIONS) BILL. (Hansard, 14 June 1927)

§ Mr. STEPHEN
I beg to move, to leave out the word "now," and, at the end of 973 the Question, to add the words "upon this day six months."
I do not think there is any real demand for this Measure. The hon. Member who introduced it would have been well-advised to have had some consultation with those in the trade. There has been in various places a certain amount of feeling in connection with this matter, but I am very doubtful as to the wisdom of this House passing any such legislation.

§ Mr. CRAWFURD
On a point of Order. The four previous Bills were put by you, Mr. Deputy-Speaker, from the Chair. Hon. Members called out "Object," and the next Bill in each case was then called. As it was before 11 o'Clock, could they not have been taken?

Mr. DEPUTY-SPEAKER
If any hon. Member in charge of one had said "Now," it would have been taken. The difference in this case was that in regard to this Bill the word "Now" was uttered, and it became my duty to put the Question. The other Bills were not taken, because no one said "Now."

§ Mr. CRAWFURD
Is the word "Object" in order before 11 o'Clock?

Mr. DEPUTY-SPEAKER
It is not out of order, but it is perfectly futile.

§ Mr. KIRKWOOD
Is it the Access to Mountains Bill we are now discussing.

Mr. DEPUTY-SPEAKER
It is the Fancy Jewellery Bill we are now discussing.

§ Mr. KIRKWOOD
We said "Now" for the Access to Mountains Bill. Are we not going on with it?

Mr. DEPUTY-SPEAKER
If I remember aright, someone said "Tuesday," and I understood it as such, and marked it for Tuesday.

§ Mr. STEPHEN
I was saying that I do not think that the hon. Member has treated the House wisely when he did not give any reason why the House at this hour of the evening should give a Second Reading to this Measure. With regard to this fancy jewellery in which the hon. Member is interested, and its connection with the Merchandise Marks Act, it is only fair to the House that we should have some explanation, and, consequently, until we get some really good reasons, I do not see any purpose in proceeding further with this Measure.

§ Lieut.-Commander KENWORTHY
beg to second the Amendment.
The hon. Member for the Moseley Division of Birmingham (Mr. Hannon) has for some years now been spending time between Eleven o'clock and Five Minutes past Eleven every night in trying to smuggle through certain Bills—this being one of a series. They are all put forward on behalf of a certain section of the fancy jewellery trade of Binning ham. They are the same Bill, they come before this House under different names. They are never supported by the Government, but what I may, without disrespect, call the kindergarten, was on this occasion caught napping. They have always one object, and that is, in the interest of a certain section of the fancy jewellery trade of Birmingham—

§ Mr. HANNON
The whole.

§ Lieut.-Commander KENWORTHY
Not the whole of it. I have had correspondence, and other Members of the House have had correspondence, with important sections of that trade in Birmingham, in which they express strong objection to this legislation. Its object is a perfectly simple one. It is to restrict imports of foreign jewellery. [HON. MEMBERS: "Hear, hear!"] Yes; again we hear the kindergarten speaking—the sub-under secretaries who sit behind the Under-Secretaries' bench.

Mr. DEPUTY-SPEAKER
The hon. and gallant Member has used an expression which I gather is in an alien language.

§ Lieut.-Commander KENWORTHY
We were talking about alien jewellery, so perhaps I may be excused. The object of this Measure, if attained, would be to exclude imports of fancy jewellery, so that the fancy jewellery trade of Birmingham would be able to establish a monopoly, and the cheap fancy goods which are sold at Christmas time, and which one finds in crackers and so on, would be raised in price. If the Government wish to abide by the only article of faith they have, and to protect this industry, they could do it themselves, instead of leaving it to the hon. Member for the Moseley Division of Birmingham and a little group of consistent Conservatives who, at any rate, have the courage of their convictions, to attempt to get these Measures through. I do not think that the House 975 should give a Second Reading to this Bill, and I think my hon. Friend is to be congratulated on his vigilance in preventing this abuse of Parliamentary Rules by moving the rejection of the Second Reading, which I now second.
In any case, it is far too late in the Session for this Bill to pass through a Standing Committee. It would simply mean taking a number of Members from their other duties or from private business to sit on a Committee in order to waste time on the hon. Member's Bill, because it is perfectly well known that, if a dozen Bills from private Members go upstairs in a Session, one, or at most two, will have a chance of finding time on the Floor of this House. The Patronage Secretary knows that, and the hon. Member for Moseley knows it also; but he wants to get some temporary fame and renown among this comparatively small section of his constituents for having got such a Bill through. I am not going to ask the House to assist the hon. Gentleman in getting this quite undeserved renown and passing fame. He can stand 976 on his own record in the past; he does not need this added lustre to his political crown—this artificial ruby produced in Birmingham in competition with artificial rubies produced in Bremen or Czechoslovakia. I hope the House will finally reject this Bill, and that the hon. Member will have the decency to withdraw it altogether, and not waste the time of hon. Members and of the Government printers, or waste Government paper in printing his Bill which he is so anxious shall reach the Statute Book.