HC Deb 14 November 1927 vol 210 cc777-94
Mr. KELLY

I beg to move, in page 5, to leave out from the word " effect," in line 21, to the end of line 26. This Clause deals with the correction of the register either because the length of the film has been altered or because of some inaccuracy at the time of registration. The Clause gives the power to alter the certificate. Sub-section (2) says that on the issue of an amended certificate the former certificate shall cease to have effect. We ask in our Amendment that the Sub-section should stop there. There is no need for the words which follow: except that the Board of Trade may in any particular case allow the film to be counted for the purposes of the provisions of Part III of this Act relating to renters' and exhibitors' quotas as being of the length originally registered, or as a British film, as the case may be. It does not appear to us that there is any justification for giving the Board of Trade the power of altering the certificate and then of counting this particular film in its original form as complying with the quota. This appeared to us at one stage as a matter in which the Board of Trade might well have consulted the advisory committee, but they have not seen fit to provide for that, and we hold that it is quite sufficient to have the words down to the word "effect."

Colonel DAY

I beg to second the Amendment.

Sir P. CUNLIFFE-LISTER

I do not think the hon. Gentleman has apprehended what his Amendment would do or what is the object of the words which he proposes to omit. The object is that a renter or exhibitor who has bona fide taken a film as being of a given length or character shall not be prejudiced. That, surely, is right. The renter or exhibitor could not know that the film was of a different length from the registered length. He could not know that it was not a British film, though registered as such. The object of the words is that anybody who, in good faith, has entered into a transaction, basing himself upon the registered character of the film, shall be able to maintain his position and shall be able to count the film for quota in spite of the fact that it differs from the original. If I were to accept the Amendment it would mean that, although the exhibitor or renter had taken the film in good faith, he would no longer be able to count it for quota.

Colonel WEDGWOOD

There is a great deal of sound sense in what the right hon. Gentleman has said, but it does not apply to the words in the Bill. We think that when a renter or exhibitor finds that the film he has bought is not the right thing he ought not to be accounted a criminal because his quota is not reached for that reason. If the right hon. Gentleman reads these words he will find that it will depend on the Board of Trade as to whether such a person is accounted a criminal or not. It is all very well for the right hon. Gentleman to say that he means to exempt every man who has made a bona fide mistake—every innocent person—but why should he state in the Bill that every innocent person is to escape? What we object to is leaving matters which may lead to criminal prosecutions, which, in fact, ought to lead to criminal prosecutions, absolutely to the discretion of the right hon. Gentleman. I understand he is going to make a considerable concession later on by no longer counting changes in film lengths of less than 10 per cent., so that there will not be many alterations in the lengths of films requiring a correction of the register. But there will still be a few alterations. Supposing there is a case where the renter has bought from the producer a film which ought to be 6,000 feet but when it is actually sold to him it turns out to be 5,000 feet. He bona fide bought it at 6,000 feet, but finds it is only 5,000 feet, and the right hon. Gentleman says that that man ought, as a bona fide purchaser, to be relieved of the criminal prosecution which should ensue. That is only one case, unfortunately. I am thinking of the small exhibitor who takes the second or third run of a film. Films, I am told, which started at 2,000 feet often enough come to the third or fourth man at something like 1,200 feet. They have been cut down

and cut down till the people who look at the film hardly see there is any sequence in it. That is the worst of seeing a film on its fourth run.

Captain A. EVANS

Before that process is put into operation, the film is returned to the renting company, re-edited, and sent out again.

Colonel WEDGWOOD

The exhibitor has bought it for, say, 2,000 feet from the renter, and long before it gets to him it turns out to be a much shorter film. There, too, the man is damnified if he cannot get relief. If he has counted 2,000 feet for his quota, and it turns out that it is only 1,200 feet, if he cannot get relief, he is liable to all the pains and penalties under this Bill. The right hon. Gentleman in such a case would say: " I have no intention whatever of bullying such a man as that or of running him in." Then why allow all these risks, and make the only exceptions to people who can get to the Board of Trade and persuade them that they ought not to be prosecuted 1 It is easy for the big man with a 6,000 feet super-film to get to the Board of Trade, and to get excused, but it is the small man of whom I am thinking. There are numbers of them, and I believe that they should have a right and not a charity given from the Board of Trade. We want to leave out these words, because the relaxation of the rule is left to the personal decision of the President of the Board of Trade. I object to that, and I believe that these people ought not to be injured in what they bought for quota by the fact that when it does turn up it is less in length than it ought to be.

Question put, "That the words proposed to be left out stand part of the Bill."

The House divided: Ayes, 245; Noes, 119.

Division No. 331.] AYES. [10.44 p.m.
Acland-Troyte, Lieut.-Colonel Bethel, A. Bullock, Captain M.
Agg-Gardner, Rt. Hon. Sir James T. Betterton, Henry B. Cadogan, Major Hon. Edward
Albery, Irving James Birchall, Major J. Dearman Calne, Gordon Hall
Alexander, E. E. (Leyton) Bird, E. R. (Yorks, W. R., Skipton) Campbell, E. T.
Allen, J. Sandeman (L'pool, W. Derby) Bird, Sir R. B. (Wolverhampton, W.) Cassels, J. D.
Applin, Colonel R. V. K. Bourne, Captain Robert Croft Cautley, Sir Henry S.
Apsley, Lord Bridgeman, Rt. Hon. William Clive Cayzer, Sir C. (Chester, City)
Astor, Maj. Hn. John J. (Kent, Dover) Briggs, J. Harold Cayzer, Maj. Sir Herbt, R.(Prtsmth, S.)
Balfour, George (Hampstead) Brittain, Sir Harry Cazalet, Captain Victor A.
Barclay-Harvey, C. M. Brocklebank, C. E. R. Cecil, Rt. Hon. Sir Evelyn (Aston)
Barnston, Major Sir Harry Broun-Lindsay, Major H. Chadwick, Sir Robert Burton
Beamish, Rear-Admiral T. P. H. Brown, Brig.-Gen. H.C. (Berks, Newb'y) Chamberlain, Rt. Hon. N. (Ladywood)
Bellairs, Commander Carlyon W. Buchan, John Chapman, Sir S.
Bentinck, Lord Henry Cavendish- Buckingham, Sir H. Charteris, Brigadier-General J.
Clayton, G. C. Hoare, Lt.-Col. Rt. Hon. Sir S. J. G. Rawson, Sir Cooper
Cobb, Sir Cyril Hogg, Rt. Hon. Sir D.(St. Marylebone) Reid, D. D. (County Down)
Cochrane, Commander Hon. A. D. Hope, Capt. A. O. J. (Warw'k, Nun.) Rhys, Hon. C. A. U.
Cockerill, Brig.-General Sir George Hope. Sir Harry (Forfar) Richardson, Sir P. W. (Sur'y, Ch'ts'y)
Conway, Sir W. Martin Hopkins, J. W. W. Roberts, E. H. G. (Flint)
Cope, Major William Howard-Bury, Colonel C. K. Ropner, Major L.
Couper, J. B. Hudson, Capt. A. U. M. (Hackney, N.) Ruggles-Brise, Lieut.-Colonel E. A.
Crooke, J. Smedley (Deritend) Hume, Sir G. H. Russell, Alexander West (Tynemouth)
Crookshank, Col. C. de W. (Berwick) Huntingfield, Lord Salmon, Major I.
Crookshank, Cpt. H. (Lindsey, Galnsbro) Hurd, Percy A. Samuel, A. M. (Surrey, Farnham)
Cunliffe, Sir Herbert Iliffe, Sir Edward M. Sandeman, N. Stewart
Curzon, Captain Viscount Inskip, Sir Thomas Walker H. Sanderson, Sir Frank
Dalkeith, Earl of Jones, G. W. H. (Stoke Newington) Sandon, Lord
Davidson, Major-General Sir John H. Kennedy, A. R. (Preston) Sassoon, Sir Philip Albert Gustave D.
Davies, Maj. Geo. F. (Somerset, Yeovl') Kidd, J. (Linlithgow) Savery, S. S.
Davies, Dr. Vernon Kindersley, Major Guy M. Shaw, R. G. (Yorks, W.R., Sowerby)
Dawson, Sir Philip King, Commodore Henry Douglas Sheffield, Sir Berkeley
Dean, Arthur Wellesley Kinloch Cooke, Sir Clement Shepperson, E. W.
Drewe, C. Knox, Sir Alfred Skelton, A. N.
Eden, Captain Anthony Lamb, J. Q. Slaney, Major P. Kenyon
Edmondson, Major A. J. Lane Fox, Col. Rt. Hon. George R. Smith, R. W. (Aberd'n & Kinc'dine, C.)
Elliot, Major Walter E. Lister, Cunliffe-, Rt. Hon. Sir Philip Smith-Carington, Neville W.
Erskine, Lord (Somerset, Weston-s.-M.) Little, Dr. E. Graham Smithers, Waldron
Erskine, James Malcolm Monteith Locker-Lampson, G. (Wood Green) Somerville, A. A. (Windsor)
Evans, Captain A. (Cardiff, South) Loder, J. de V. Spender-Clay, Colonel H.
Everard, W. Lindsay Long, Major Eric Sprot, Sir Alexander
Fairfax, Captain J. G. Lucas-Tooth, Sir Hugh Vere Stanley, Lieut.-Colonel Rt. Hon. G. F.
Falle, Sir Bertram G. Luce, Major-Gen. Sir Richard Harman Stanley, Lord (Fylde)
Fanshawe, Captain G. D. Lumley, L. R. Stanley, Hon. O. F. G. (Westm'eland)
Fermoy, Lord MacAndrew, Major Charles Glen Steel, Major Samuel Strang
Ford, Sir P. J. Macdonald, Capt. P. D. (I. of W.) Stott, Lieut.-Colonel W. H.
Forrest, W. Macdonald, R. (Glasgow, Cathcart) Streatfeild, Captain S. R.
Foxcroft, Captain C. T. MacIntyre, Ian Stuart, Crichton-, Lord C.
Fraser, Captain Ian McLean, Major A. Stuart, Hon. J. (Moray and Nairn)
Fremantle, Lieut.-Colonel Francis E. Macmillan, Captain H. Sueter, Rear-Admiral Murray Fraser
Galbraith, J. F. W. Macnaghten, Hon. Sir Malcolm Sugden, Sir Wilfrid
Ganzoni, Sir John. Macquisten, F. A. Thom, Lt.-Col. J. G. (Dumbarton)
Gates, Percy Mac Robert, Alexander M. Thompson, Luke (Sunderland)
Gibbs, Col. Rt. Hon. George Abraham Maltland, Sir Arthur D. Steel- Thomson, Rt. Hon. Sir W. Mitchell
Gilmour, Lt.-Col. Rt. Hon. Sir John Makins, Brigadier-General E. Titchfield, Major the Marquess of
Goff, Sir Park Manningham-Buller, Sir Mervyn Tryon, Rt. Hon. George Clement
Gower, Sir Robert Margesson, Captain D. Vaughan-Morgan, Col. K. P.
Grace, John Marriott, Sir J. A. R. Ward, Lt.-Col. A.L.(Kingston-on-Hull)
Graham, Fergus (Cumberland, N.) Meller, R. J. Warner, Brigadier-General W. W.
Grattan-Doyle, Sir N. Merriman, F. B. Warrender, Sir Victor
Greaves-Lord, Sir Walter Milne, J. S. Wardlaw- Waterhouse, Captain Charles
Greene, W. P. Crawford Mitchell, S. (Lanark, Lanark) Watson, Rt. Hon. W. (Carlisle)
Grenfell, Edward C. (City of London) Mitchell, W. Foot (Saffron Walden) Watts, Dr. T.
Grotrian, H. Brent Moore, Sir Newton J. Wells, S. R.
Guinness, Rt. Hon. Walter E. Moore-Brabazon, Lieut.-Col. J. T. C. White, Lieut.-Col Sir G. Dalrymple
Gunston, Captain D. W. Morden, Colonel Walter Grant Wiggins, William Martin
Hacking. Captain Douglas H. Moreing, Captain A. H. Williams, A. M. (Cornwall, Northern)
Hall, Lieut.-Colonel Sir F. (Dulwich) Morrison, H. (Wilts, Salisbury) Williams, Com. C. (Devon, Torquay)
Hall, Capt. W. D'A. (Brecon & Rad.) Murchison, Sir Kenneth Williams, Herbert G, (Reading)
Hammersley, S. S. Nail, Colonel Sir Joseph Wilson, R. R. (Stafford, Lichfield)
Hannon, Patrick Joseph Henry Nelson, Sir Frank Winby, Colonel L. P.
Harmsworth, Hon. E. C. (Kent) Nicholson, O. (Westminster) Windsor-Clive, Lieut.-Colonel George
Harrison, G. J. C. Oakley, T. Winterton, Rt. Hon. Earl
Hartington, Marquess of O'Connor, T. J. (Bedford, Luton) Withers, John James
Harvey, G. (Lambeth, Kennington) Ormsby-Gore, Rt. Hon. William Wolmer, Viscount
Hawke, John Anthony Penny, Frederick George Womersley, W. J.
Headlam, Lieut.-Colonel C. M. Percy, Lord Eustace (Hastings) Wood, B. C. (Somerset, Bridgwater)
Henderson, Capt. R. R. (Oxf'd, Henley) Perkins, Colonel E. K. Wood, E. (Chest'r, Stalyb'ge & Hyde)
Henderson, Lt.-Col. Sir V. L. (Bootle) Philipson, Mabel Wood, Sir Kingsley (Woolwich, W.)
Heneage, Lieut.-Colonel Arthur P. Pilcher, G. Yerburgh, Major Robert D. T.
Henn, Sir Sydney H. Power, Sir John Cecil
Hennessy, Major Sir G. R. J. Price, Major C. W. M. TELLERS FOR THE AYES.—
Herbert, Dennis (Hertford, Watford) Raine, Sir Walter Capt. Bowyer and Mr. F. C.
Hilton, Cecil Ramsden, E. Thomson.
NOES.
Adamson, Rt. Hon. W. (Fife, West) Bromley, J. Duncan, C.
Adamson, W. M. (Staff., Cannock) Brown, Ernest (Leith) Dunnico, H.
Alexander, A. V. (Sheffield, Hilllsbro') Brown, James (Ayr and Bute) Garro-Jones, Captain G. M.
Baker, J. (Wolverhampton, Bilston) Buchanan, G. Gibbins, Joseph
Baker, Walter Buxton, Rt. Hon. Noel Gillett, George M.
Barker, G. (Monmouth, Abertillery) Cape, Thomas Gosling, Harry
Barnes, A. Charleton, H. C. Graham, D. M. (Lanark, Hamilton)
Batey, Joseph Cluse, W. S. Graham, Rt. Hon. Wm. (Edin., Cent.)
Bondfield, Margaret Connolly, M. Greenall, T.
Bowerman, Rt. Hon. Charles W. Dalton, Hugh Greenwood, A. (Nelson and Colne)
Broad, F. A. Day, Colonel Harry Grenfell, D. R. (Glamorgan)
Bromfield, William Dennison, R. Griffiths, T. (Monmouth, Pontypool)
Groves, T. Montague, Frederick Sullivan, J
Grundy, T. W. Morrison, R. C. (Tottenham, N.) Sutton, J. E.
Hall, F. (York, W.R., Normanton) Murnin, H. Thomas, Rt. Hon. James H. (Derby)
Hall, G. H. (Merthyr Tydvll) Naylor, T. E. Thomson, Trevelyan (Middlesbro, W.)
Hardle, George D. Oliver, George Harold Thurtle, Ernest
Hartshorn, Rt. Hon. Vernon Owen, Major G. Tinker, John Joseph
Hayday, Arthur Palln, John Henry Townend, A. E.
Hayes, John Henry Paling, W. Varley, Frank B.
Henderson, Right Hon. A. (Burnley) Parkinson, John Allen (Wigan) Vlant, S. P.
Hirst, G. H. Pethick-Lawrence, F. W. Watson, W. M. (Dunfermline)
Hirst, W. (Bradford, South) Potts, John S. Watts-Morgan, Lt.-Col. D. (Rhondda)
Jenkins, W. (Glamorgan, Neath) Riley, Ben Wedgwood, Rt. Hon. Josiah
John, William (Rhondda, West) Ritson, J. Wellock, Wilfred
Jones, Henry Haydn (Merioneth) Robinson, W. C. (Yorks, W. R., Elland) Welsh, J. C.
Jones, J. J. (West Ham, Slivertown) Rose, Frank H. Westwood, J.
Kelly, W. T. Salter, Dr. Alfred Wheatley, Rt. Hon. J.
Kennedy, T. Scrymgeour, E. Whiteley, W.
Kenworthy, Lt.-Com. Hon. Joseph M. Scurr, John Wilkinson, Ellen C.
Kirkwood. D Shaw, Rt. Hon. Thomas (Preston) Williams, C. P. (Denbigh, Wrexham)
Lansbury, George Short, Alfred (Wednesbury) Williams, David (Swansea, East)
Lawrence, Susan Sitch, Charles H. Williams, T. (York, Don Valley)
Lawson, John James Smith, Ben (Bermondsey, Rotherhithe) Wilson, C. H. (Sheffield, Attercliffe)
Lowth, T. Smith, H. B. Lees- (Keighley) Wilson, R. J. (Jarrow)
Lunn, William Snell, Harry Wright, W.
Mac Donald, Rt. Hon. J. R. (Aberavon) Snowden, Rt. Hon. Philip Young, Robert (Lancaster, Newton)
MacLaren, Andrew Spoor, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Charles
Maclean, Nell (Glasgow, Govan) Stamford, T. W. TELLERS FOR THE NOES.—
March, S. Stephen, Campbell Mr. Charles Edwards and Mr. T.
Maxton, James Strauss, E. A. Henderson.
    cc783-5
  1. CLAUSE 9.—(Power to require reference to High Court.) 878 words
  2. cc785-94
  3. HONOURS (SALE). 3,202 words