§ Motion made, and Question proposed, "That the Clause stand part of the Bill."
§ Mr. MARDY JONESI wish to draw attention to a point in connection with Clause 2, on which I failed to obtain an explanation on the Second Reading.
§
Clause 2 provides that,
The Commissioners of Crown Lands—
(i) May sell any Crown land or any easement, right or privilege of any kind over or in relation to Crown land.
§
The point on which I desire information relates to paragraph (2):
Where any Crown land comprises a manor, may sell the seignory of any freehold land within the manor, with or without any exception or reservation of all or any mines or minerals, or of any rights or powers relative to mining purposes, so as in every such case to effect an extinguishment of the manorial incidents.
§ We have had no information during the proceedings on the Bill, or even in the Report of the Select Committee, as to the extent of the Crown lands which contain minerals, which contain coal seams, and in which part of the country those coal seams are situated. On this Clause it is relevant that we should secure from the Government some statement as to their policy on the question of minerals like coal and iron ore; whether they are going to encourage the Commissioners, who will be charged with the administration of this Measure, to sell the freehold outright or whether they are going to limit their policy to the leasing of these minerals, to be worked by private enterprise or public authorities. There are several large municipal authorities, who are large users and consumers of coal for their own purposes, who are seriously considering the purchasing of mineral land so that they can own and work them direct, and thus save the profits of the middlemen who come between the producer and the consumer. It is important, in the light of the coal dispute of last year and the unsatisfactory settlements which have accrued as a result of that great dispute, that we should get from the Government some statement as to whether they are prepared to give some consideration to the miners of this country, who, after all, are a very considerable portion of the community. There are well over a million miners, under normal conditions, engaged in the industry and with their dependents they comprise four millions to five millions of the entire population. There is at the present moment considerable discontent in every coalfield in this country as a result of the last settlement and the policy of the Government—
§ The CHAIRMANThe hon. Member may raise the question as to whether the Crown should sell with or without reservation the minerals, but he cannot go into these other matters.
§ Mr. JONESThat is the very point. I am trying to get at. I want to know whether it is the policy of the Government to retain these minerals as freehold, or whether they are going to lease them. I want to know whether they propose to sell outright, to lease them, or whether they will not consider the other alternative of working the minerals themselves. I submit that it is one of the functions of the Crown to make the best use of its property, and as we have coal measures of a considerable extent which are public property I think this is an excellent opportunity for the Government to ascertain at first hand what is wrong with the coal industry of this country. If they would only exploit the coal measures which are in Crown property, develop them and employ the miners of this country direct, then they would be able to find out the real obstacles to the efficiency of the coal industry. It is an excellent opportunity for the Prime Minister to carry out what I accept as his personal assurance, that he is anxious to see the coal industry reorganised and put on a proper footing. Here is an excellent opportunity for the Government to develop these lands as Crown property. I happen to know that some of these Crown lands do contain valuable coal measures, some of the best quality of coal in the country, and it would be a useful national experiment if the Government would carefully and Properly develop the minerals on these Crown lands.
If the Government undertook that function, which they have full power to undertake, it would be a most useful experiment and would enable them to ascertain what is wrong with the industry. The coal measures which they own as Crown property are sufficiently large and sufficiently scattered to enable them to make a fair comparison with existing colliery concerns in several of our coalfields. If this experiment resulted in the discovery of what is at the root of the existing inefficiency and, therefore, at the root of the existing discontent in the coal industry, it would be a great national service. I am not suggesting, that that in itself would prove the case for nationalisation. That issue does not arise to-night, but the, issue of the proper use of Crown lands and of the minerals contained in them, is one of 1314 real substance in relation to this Measure. I should like to see the Secretary for Mines in his place so that he might let us know whether his Department has given any thought to this method of treating Crown lands which contain minerals. The Secretary for Mines has no excuse for his absence, because a number of Members on this side, during the Second Reading Debate, made it clear that they wanted to know the attitude of the Government on this matter. I do not know why the Mines Department should not have exercised the opportunity given it since the Second Reading of this Bill to ascertain how far it is practicable to go in the direction I have indicated.
I ask whoever can speak on behalf of the Government in this matter to say whether they are going to instruct the Commissioners to sell these lands and minerals outright if they get a good price —and obviously they should not part with them otherwise—or whether they are going to instruct the Commissioners not to sell these Crown lands, particularly those known to contain minerals of value. Are they going to ask the Commissioners to prepare a report for this House as to whether mineral properties which are Crown lands can be developed on the lines suggested. I put this forward as a serious suggestion because of the discontent which now exists in the coalfields and which is likely to develop into a very grave situation before the end of the year if something is not done. A mere gesture by the Government to show that they are considering this matter on the merits might convince the miners that the Government are not as black as they have been painted and that in the Government there are people who are concerned with the welfare of the miners as a considerable portion of the community. I ask for a definite statement, as to whether Crown lands as a whole, mineral-bearing or otherwise, are to be sold outright to private people or whether it is the policy of the Government, particularly where the land is of value, for building development, recreation or mining, to instruct the Commissioners to retain the ownership of the land. I should also like to know what is their policy with regard to leasing. Let us take the case of a large mineral property situated in a part of the country which has social amenities, healthy conditions and beautiful surroundings. Will 1315 they instruct the Commissioners to town-plan that region or let it be fitted-in with the town planning of the district?
§ The CHAIRMANThat point would appear to be relevant on Clause 11.
§ Mr. JONESI shall take advantage of the opportunity to raise it on Clause 11, but in the meantime I do press for a reply on the points I have made.
§ The SOLICITOR-GENERALI very much doubt, Sir, whether you would allow me to enter upon a discussion whether it would be for the national advantage that Crown Lands Commissioners should work minerals.
§ The SOLICITOR-GENERALI am addressing myself to you, Sir, and I am expressing a doubt as to whether I should be allowed to enter into a discussion of that question.
§ Mr. JONESOn a point of Order. I understand that the Chairman of a Committee always agrees to the discussion of such an issue if there be general consent among the Members of the Committee.
§ The CHAIRMANThat is by no means the case. On very special occasions that has been allowed, but they have to be rare occasions. I think the Solicitor-General would be in order in saying whether it was or was not the policy of the Commissioners of Crown Lands to sell land with or without mineral rights, but he could not go into a general argument as to the advantages of the Crown working mineral rights.
§ Mr. JONESOn a point of Order. The opinion of the Committee has not been tested on the grave situation which has arisen, and I respectfully suggest to you that this is an occasion on which we should test this very point. There has been no previous opportunity since I have been a Member of this House of discussing this aspect of the Crown lands, and that being the case, and in view of there being what is generally regarded as a serious situation in the coal industry, I would ask whether this is not an occasion when we should be given a definite declaration of policy?
§ The CHAIRMANThat might be done if it were in order, but I must rule that it is not in order to discuss this as a question of policy. Questions may be raised as to whether it is the intention of the Government to sell or lease land with or without mineral rights. That would be in order, but it would not be in order to raise the whole question of the Crown working minerals.
§ Mr. JONESI am very sorry, but I must press my point still further. Is it not a fact that there are certain Crown properties worked by the Crown to-day, and, therefore, no precedent would be created? The Government already have the powers within this Measure, and for generations past they have administered some of their land and not sub-let it to any outside body.
§ The CHAIRMANIf that be so, the matter must come up on some Estimate, and then the question of whether they are properly using their powers could be raised; but it cannot be raised on this Clause.
§ The SOLICITOR - GENERALI am quite willing to answer the question which the hon. Member has put as to the practice and intentions of the Crown as regards such minerals as may be included in Crown lands, but I was saying that I could not expect to be allowed to enter upon a discussion of the questions of policy which the hon. Member raised. That is your ruling, Sir, and I accept it. I would state, first of all, that there are very few minerals under lands which are Crown lands. Included in the Crown lands are considerable areas of minerals, but these are, in fact, either under the foreshore or under the sea, and it is obvious that those minerals could not be worked by the Crown unless the Crown owned some land on which the necessary shafts could be sunk. As far as those minerals are concerned, they must necessarily be worked by the people who take leases of the minerals because they have means of access to them.
§ Mr. JONESThe point raised is that the Crown has no right to work the minerals upon adjoining land under the foreshore or under the sea. Has not the Crown the power, like any private person to lease such land from private owners so that they can get access to it?
§ The SOLICITOR-GENERALThe hon. Gentleman has asked a number of questions, and I am attempting to answer them. The Crown cannot work the minerals unless it gets possession of the land to enable it to make the necessary sinkings. As a matter of fact the Crown does not work minerals and the Commissioners have no power to work minerals. If there be any question as to whether they ought to have such powers, then that question would have to be raised in regard to another Measure altogether. This Bill simply clothes the Commissioners of Crown Lands with certain powers which are exercised by trustees under the Settled Lands Act. The fact that minerals are mentioned is merely incidental to the power which they seek to part with certain rights in land either with minerals under the land or without. Therefore, the question of what use should be made of the minerals appears to have very little connection with this Clause. As a matter of fact, there are very few minerals under lands owned by the Commissioners, and they are either under the foreshore or under the sea. The Crown floes not work any minerals, and it is not taking any powers to work minerals. Although I am afraid that I have not satisfied the desire of the hon. Member for Pontypridd that the Crown should enter upon an interesting experiment, I think I have said all that is to be said upon this Clause.
§ Mr. TINKERWe have now been getting some very useful information about this Bill. Paragraph (ii) of Clause 2 states that power shall be given
with or without any exception or reservation of all or any mines or minerals.We want to be quite sure where we stand on this point. It must be realised that at the present time there is a greater output of coal than we require, and we do not want the Crown to start selling further minerals without due regard to the position. We would rather the Crown kept control of all this mineral wealth, because we expect later on that all the wealth of the country will belong to the Crown, and we do not want to sell it.
§ The SOLICITOR-GENERALThe Crown is not selling minerals, and does not propose to sell minerals.
§ Mr. TINKERWe are only asking for protection against that. On the Report stage I suggest that we should put something into Clause 2 to protect the point we have in mind in this connection. If we could get that assurance, I think we should agree that some power must be given to the Commissioners in regard to the control of the selling of land. If we can get an assurance that these lands will not be put on to the market against the interests of the miners who are being so badly hit at the present time, we shall be quite satisfied.
§ Mr. MAXTONThe Solicitor-General, in reply to my hon. Friend, has said that there are very few minerals in Crown lands, except in ungetatable positions. I wonder what Crown lands he is thinking of, because, when I was on the Committee examining this Bill, I gathered a definite impression that the Crown lands were always in a state of flux—that there is a perpetual buying and selling of Crown lands. Therefore, while there may be no minerals in the Crown lands possessed to-day, there may be very wealthy mineral resources in the Crown lands that may be purchased to-morrow. My anxiety to have the position of the Commissioners properly regularised, and their status properly established, was because I gathered that the only consideration that weighed in the running of the Department now, in the purchase or sale of any properties, was the commercial consideration—that, if it was going to be a profitable thing to sell land, then the Crown Lands Commissioners would sell land; that, if it was going to be a profitable proposition to buy a particular bit of land, then they would buy land; but that it was only the commercial consideration that weighed in the running of the Crown lands at the present time.
I put the point in the Committee, and I put it here, that, while that may be an adequate outlook for a business man in the management of an estate belonging to himself, or in the investment of money that he has to dispose of, it is not a sufficient consideration in the handling of Crown property. Questions of social amenity, public convenience, the public health, and the public welfare generally, are questions that should weigh very seriously with the Commissioners of Crown lands in the purchase or sale of any 1319 property they may administer, and I put it to the Solicitor-General that it is not an adequate reply to my hon. Friend to say that there are very few minerals. The fact that provision is made in the Bill with reference to mining leases clearly contemplates that, if there are no minerals to be leased at this moment, there may be at some subsequent time, and it might very well be considered by this Government, or by some other Government that will take its place in the very near future, that it would be quite desirable in the public interest not, I admit, that the Crown Lands Commissioners should run undeveloped mineral resources under Crown lands, but that they should lease to the Mines Department, or some other suitable or appropriate public Department, the mineral resources that are there, already owned by the community, for development by another Government Department.
I am glad that my hon. Friend the Member for Pontypridd (Mr. Mardy Jones) has raised this point. I think that the Solicitor-General's answer is not adequate—that it does not touch the very important matters raised. As a Member of the Select Committee, if I could get the question of the Commissioners put right, so that we could have three responsible men, specially chosen for their business capacity and for their public sentiment and desire to help the community, I was prepared to leave the general direction of the high policy that would control the operations of this Department very largely in their hands, even with the limitations which I admit were put on Parliamentary discussion, because I do not believe publicly-owned industry can be effectively run if it is going to be harassed by pettifogging questions in the House. I agree that is one argument that many critics of our Socialist propositions have at their disposal, that if publicly-owned industries in the future are to be run as inefficiently as a number of Government Departments are run to-day it would be a blue look-out for the effective operation of the principles that I am anxious to see operated in our social, industrial and economic life. But I believe it is right and proper that the industries of the country should be publicly owned, I believe they can be run publicly more 1320 efficiently more effectively and more economically.
§ The CHAIRMANThe Solicitor-General has told us that at present the Crown has no power to work minerals itself and this Clause would not give the Crown power. The only question is whether they can sell the land with or without the mineral rights.
§ Mr. MAXTONI put it to you, Sir, that I am well within the bounds of the Clause. I am discussing the whole of the policy of the Commissioners of Crown Lands in reference to their rights of sale or use of any particular Crown property at present. I do not want to go into a general discussion of Socialism versus individualism but I think it is a fair and reasonable thing to say we can have a body of Commissioners chosen by the responsible Government of the country which can direct the control of the Crown lands or any other body of national industry as effectively as it is done by any group in private enterprise and to the far greater advantage of the people who are working in the industry and the people who are receiving the benefits of the services carried on by the Department. I see in this Crown Lands Bill a centre round which many useful public services can he developed, and it is of the utmost importance in the Committee stage of a Bill like this that we should endeavour to see that the Crown lands are used to the highest social velue to which they can be put. It is improper that they should merely be regarded as revenue producers and that the ordinary higgling of the market should apply to them. I think the nation should adopt a different attitude towards these things altogether, and I think my hon. Friend is rendering a service in raising this matter, and unless we can have something more adequate in the way of a reply than we have had from the Solicitor-General I think my hon. Friend will be well advised to oppose the Clause.
§ Mr. MARDY JONESThe Solicitor-General intervened it few minutes ago, and said that the Crown has no power at all to work any Crown lands or minerals in them. That was, the substance of his statement. I should like to have something more from him than a mere statement of this sort. I thought it was 1321 common knowledge that the Crown in past centuries has worked land, minerals and forests for public purposes. I had always understood, even from my schooldays, that the ships of the Royal Navy in the past were built out of oak which was Forest of Dean timber, and in the cutting down of the oak timber in the Forest of Dean in the 16th and 17th centuries they worked coal mines in that forest to facilitate the hewing of those trees. Then went on for a considerable period of time. To-day a great deal of the forest and minerals of the Forest of Dean are Crown property, and surely it is not correct for the Solicitor-General to say that the Crown has never had the power, because it exercised it in that way for a considerable period of time. The only point the Solicitor-General can legitimately make is that that use has gone out of practice for the past century or two, but the fact that it has gone out of use is no answer to our point that the old use could be resumed, and I submit very respectfully that it is within the power of the Crown to do this if the present Government had the will.
§ Captain GARRO-JONESThere is one point which can be briefly expressed, but which is, nevertheless, of vital importance to which I wish to call the attention of the Minister of Agriculture. Sub-section (1) of Clause 2 provides that the Commissioner of Crown Lands may sell any Crown land or any easement, right or privilege of any kind over or in relation to 'Crown land. There is one form of
§ easement, or right, or privilege to which it may be thought by some to be premature to draw attention, but which, I am convinced, within the next 20 years will become very much more important than mineral rights are to-day. I refer to the question of the utilisation of the tides. I should like to see that right, or easement, or privilege totally exempted from this Sub-section (1) and to see a public declaration made that not only is the Minister not to sell any right for the utilisation of the tides, but that any rights which may occur in the future from any new invention—and great progress is being made to this end—for utilising the tides in any part of the country belongs inherently to the Crown. If that public declaration were made now, it might save the State very much inconvenience in years to come. I believe that in a very short time the mineral rights will be acquired by the Crown in the coal industry, and I am certainly convinced that when it is found possible to utilise the tides as a source of power, the people of this country will not tolerate the exploitation of that great natural force by private individuals, and I respectfully submit that now is the time to make it clear that any new right which may be developed in that direction belongs to the State, and to nobody else.
§ Question put, "That the Clause stand part of the Bill."
§ The. Committee divided: Ayes, 180; Noes, 58.
1323| Division No. 185.] | AYES. | [10. 54 p.m. |
| Agg-Gardner, Rt. Hon. Sir James T. | Cayzer, Maj. Sir Herbt. R. (Prtsmth, S.) | Fielden, E. B. |
| Alexander, E. E. (Leyton) | Christie, J. A. | Finburgh, S. |
| Applin, Colonel R. V. K. | Clayton, G. C. | Ford, Sir P. J. |
| Ashley, Lt.-Col. Rt. Hon. Wilfrid W. | Cobb, Sir Cyril | Forestier, Walker, Sir L. |
| Atholl, Duchess of | Cochrane, Commander Hon. A. D. | Forrest, W. |
| Baldwin, Rt. Hon. Stanley | Cockerill, Brig.-General Sir George | Foxcroft, Captain C. T. |
| Balfour, George (Hampstead) | Conway, Sir W. Martin | Fraser, Captain Ian |
| Barnett, Major Sir Richard | Cope, Major William | Gault, Lieut. -Col. Andrew Hamilton |
| Barnston, Major Sir Harry | Couper, J. B. | Gibbs, Col. Rt. Hon. George Abraham |
| Beamish, Rear-Admiral T. P. H. | Courtauld, Major J. S. | Gilmour, Lt.-Col. Rt. Hon. Sir John |
| Bellairs, Commander Carlyon W. | Crooke, J. Smedley (Deritend) | Gower, Sir Robert |
| Betterton, Henry B. | Crookshank, Col. C. de W. (Berwick) | Grace, John |
| Birchall, Major J. Dearman | Crookshank, Cpt. H. (Lindsey, Gainsbro) | Grenfell, Edward C. (City of London) |
| Blundell, F. N. | Cunliffe, Sir Herbert | Gretton, Colonel Rt. Hon. John |
| Bowyer, Captain G. E. W. | Curzon, Captain Viscount | Grotrian, H. Brent |
| Brassey, Sir Leonard | Davidson, Major-General Sir J. H. | Guinness, Rt. Hon. Walter E. |
| Briscoe, Richard George | Davies, Maj. Geo. F. (Somerset, Yeovil) | Gunston, Captain D. W. |
| Brocklebank, C. E. R. | Davies, Dr. Vernon | Hall, Capt. W. D'A. (Brecon & Rad.) |
| Brown, Brig.-Gen. H. C. (Berks, Newb'y) | Davison, Sir W. H (Kensington, S.) | Hanbury, C. |
| Buchan, John | Dawson, Sir Philip | Hannon, Patrick Joseph Henry |
| Buckingham, Sir H. | Elliot, Major Walter E. | Harland, A. |
| Bull, Rt. Hon. Sir William James | Ellis, R. G. | Hartington, Marquess of |
| Burman, J. B. | Elveden, Viscount | Hawke, John Anthony |
| Butt, Sir Alfred | Evans, Captain A. (Cardiff, South) | Headlam, Lieut.-Colonel C. M. |
| Caine, Gordon Hall | Falle, Sir Bertram G. | Henderson, Lt.-Col. Sir V. L. (Bootle) |
| Campbell, E. T. | Fermoy, Lord | Heneage, Lieut.-Colonel Arthur P. |
| Henn, Sir Sydney H. | Monsell, Eyres, Com. Rt. Hon. B. M. | Sheffield, Sir Berkeley |
| Herbert, Dennis (Hertford, Watford) | Morrison, H. (Wilts, Salisbury) | Shepperson, E. W. |
| Hills, Major John Waller | Murchison, Sir Kenneth | Simms, Dr. John M. (Co. Down) |
| Hilton, Cecil | Nelson, Sir Frank | Slaney, Major P. Kenyon |
| Hogg, Rt. Hon. Sir D. (St. Marylebone) | Neville, Sir Reginald J. | Smith-Carington, Neville W. |
| Hohler, Sir Gerald Fitzroy | Newman, Sir R. H. S. D. L. (Exeter) | Sprot, Sir Alexander |
| Hope, Capt. A. O. J. (Warw'k, Nun.) | Oakley, T. | Stanley, Lieut. Colonel Rt. Hon. G. F. |
| Hopkins, J. W. W. | O'Neill, Major Rt. Hon. Hugh | Stanley, Hon. O. F. G. (Westm'eland) |
| Hopkinson, A. (Lancaster, Mossley) | Oman, Sir Charles William C. | Steel, Major Samuel Strang |
| Howard-Bury, Lieut.-Colonel C. K. | Ormsby-Gore, Rt. Hon. William | Storry-Deans, R. |
| Huntingfield, Lord | Pennefather, Sir John | Stuart, Hon. J. (Moray and Nairn) |
| Inskip, Sir Thomas Walker H. | Penny, Frederick George | Sueter, Rear-Admiral Murray Fraser |
| Jephcott, A. R. | Percy, Lord Eustace (Hastings) | Sugden, Sir Wilfrid |
| Jones, G. W. H. (Stoke Newington) | Perkins, Colonel E. K. | Thompson, Luke (Sunderland) |
| Joynson-Hicks, Rt. Hon. Sir William | Perring, Sir William George | Thomson, F. C. (Aberdeen, South) |
| Kidd, J. (Linlithgow) | Peto, Sir Basil E. (Devon, Barnstaple) | Thomson, Rt. Hon. Sir W. Mitchell- |
| Kindersley, Major Guy M. | Peto, G. (Somerset, Frome) | Tinne, J. A. |
| King, Commodore Henry Douglas | Pownall, Sir Assheton | Tryon, Rt. Hon. George Clement |
| Lamb, J. Q. | Price, Major C. W. M. | Ward, Lt. -Col. A. L. (Kingston-on-Hull) |
| Lane Fox, Col. Rt. Hon. George R. | Raine, Sir Walter | Warner, Brigadier-General W. W. |
| Locker-Lampson, G. (Wood Green) | Rawson, Sir Cooper | Waterhouse, Captain Charles |
| Loder, J. de V. | Remer, J. R. | Watson, Rt. Hon. W. (Carlisle) |
| Lougher, Lewis | Rhys, Hon. C. A. U. | Watts, Dr. T. |
| Luce, Maj. -Gen. Sir Richard Harman | Rice, Sir Frederick | Wells, S. R. |
| Lumley, L. R. | Richardson, Sir P. W. (Sur'y, Ch'ts'y) | Wheler, Major Sir Granville C. H. |
| Macintyre, Ian | Roberts, E. H. G. (Flint) | Williams, A. M. (Cornwall, Northern) |
| McLean, Major A. | Roberts, Sir Samuel (Hereford) | Williams, Com. C. (Devon, Torquay) |
| Macnaghten, Hon. Sir Malcolm | Rye, F. G. | Williams, Herbert G. (Reading) |
| McNeill, Rt. Hon. Ronald John | Salmon, Major I. | Wise, Sir Fredric |
| Macquisten, F. A. | Samuel, Samuel (W'dsworth, Putney) | Wolmer, Viscount |
| Margesson, Captain D. | Sandeman, N. Stewart | Womersley, W. J. |
| Marriott, Sir J. A. R. | Sanders, Sir Robert A. | Wood, Sir Kingsley (Woolwich, W.). |
| Mason, Lieut. -Col. Glyn K. | Sassoon, Sir Philip Albert Gustave D. | |
| Merriman, F. B. | Shaw, R. G. (Yorks, W. R., Sowerby) | TELLERS FOR THE AYES.— |
| Mitchell, S. (Lanark, Lanark) | Shaw, Lt.-Col. A. D. Mcl. (Renfrew, W.) | Major Sir George Hennessy and |
| Captain Lord Stanley. | ||
| NOES. | ||
| Adamson, W. M. (Staff., Cannock) | Greenwood, A. (Nelson and Colne) | Potts, John S. |
| Alexander, A. V. (Sheffield, Hillsbro') | Groves, T. | Richardson, R. (Houghton-le-Spring) |
| Ammon, Charles George | Grundy, T. W. | Ritson, J. |
| Baker, J. (Wolverhampton, Bilston) | Hartshorn, Rt. Hon. Vernon | Robinson, W. C. (Yorks, W. R., Elland) |
| Barnes, A. | Hayes, John Henry | Salter, Dr. Alfred |
| Batey, Joseph | Hirst, G. H. | Shaw, Rt. Hon. Thomas (Preston) |
| Bondfield, Margaret | Johnston, Thomas (Dundee) | Shiels, Dr. Drummond |
| Bowerman, Rt. Hon. Charles W. | Jones, T. I. Mardy (Pontypridd) | Slesser, Sir Henry H. |
| Broad, F. A. | Kelly, W. T. | Smith, Ben (Bermondsey, Rotherhithe) |
| Bromley, J. | Kennedy, T. | Snell, Harry |
| Buchanan, G. | Kenworthy, Lt.-Com. Hon. Joseph M. | Stephen, Campbell |
| Charleton, H. C. | Kirkwood, D. | Sutton, J. E. |
| Dalton, Hugh | Lawrence, Susan | Trevelyan, Rt. Hon. C. P. |
| Davies, Rhys John (Westhoughton) | Lawson, John James | Viant, S. P. |
| Day, Colonel Harry | Lunn, William | Wellock, Wilfred |
| Dennison, R. | Murnin, H. | Whiteley, W. |
| Dunnico, H. | Naylor, T. E. | Wilson, C. H. (Sheffield, Attercliffe) |
| Edwards, C. (Monmouth, Bedwellty) | Oliver, George Harold | Windsor, Walter |
| Garro-Jones, Captain G. M. | Palin, John Henry | |
| Gillett, George M. | Pethick-Lawrence, F. W. | TELLERS FOR THE NOES.— |
| Mr. Maxton and Mr. Tinker. |