NORTHERN IRELAND (MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS) BILL. (Hansard, 28 June 1928)

The UNDER-SECRETARY of STATE for the HOME DEPARTMENT (Lieut.-Colonel Sir Vivian Henderson)
I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."
This is a short Bill of four Clauses and is concerned purely with machinery, and is in no way contentious. The first Clause merely facilitates provisions for an appeal in the Northern Ireland Supreme Court. The second Clause deals with Regulations as to standards of agricultural procuce, and uniformity of administration in matters relating to the foreshores, and certain questions in connection with consolidating legislation in Northern Ireland which affect certain reserved services dealt with by Bills passed in this Parliament. The third Clause deals with the administration of intestate estates, and the fourth Clause is intended to try and simplify the procedure in regard to land purchase in Northern Ireland.

§ Lieut.-Commander KENWORTHY
I should like to draw attention to a curious thing about this Bill. At the back of it are the names of the Home Secretary, the President of the Board of Trade, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, and the hon. and gallant Gentleman the Parliamentary Secretary to the Home Office; but the name of the Secretary of State for the Dominions is not there. That strikes me as a rather curious omission. The other matter which I want to ask is with reference to Clause 3, which deals with the making of regulations for certain agricultural products to be exported to this country for the Irish Free State, and it gives to Northern Ireland the right to make regulations with regard to the grading of agricultural produce apparently, although it does not specifically say so. Why should we have to give the Northern Ireland Government such powers? Surely they have all jurisdiction of that kind within their borders. Also in Clause 2, Sub-section (4), there are provisions dealing with compensation for injury to mariners, to the pilot service, to the deep-sea fishermen, and so on. I thought we handed over these services to the Parliament in Belfast, and I am surprised that this House should still have to spend time late at night in discussing such a Measure. It is non-controversial in that the more they take over such responsibilities, the better for us. This House is over-burdened with responsibilities, and it is very curious, after we have set up a Government in Northern Ireland, that it should come to us for what appears on the face of it to be comparatively trivial details.

§ Sir V. HENDERSON
The Dominion Office has nothing to do with Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland is, for purposes of communication between this Government and the Government of Northern Ireland, like the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. Therefore, there is no reason why the name of the Secretary of State for the Dominions should appear on the back of the Bill. I am glad that the hon. and gallant Member raised the other two points, because it enables me to say something that escaped my memory, and that is that this Bill is one of urgency, because we have found that doubts have been raised as to whether powers which were 848 given to the Government of Northern Ireland under the original Act have been given, and we wish to make it quite clear that they have these powers. The Government of Northern Ireland have no power to legislate with regard to trade with another country, but they certainly were entitled to have the opportunity to legislate with regard to standards of agricultural produce. It is because there is that doubt that we wish those words to be inserted. In the same way, with regard to merchant seamen, when they recently passed a Bill dealing with workmen's compensation, they desired to insert provisions in it dealing with compensation to merchant seamen, and then the question was raised as to whether they were not exceeding their powers by so doing. Therefore, as It was consolidating legislation, we have inserted these provisions and the other provisions to make it quite clear that they have that power.

§ Lieut.-Commander KENWORTHY
Does the Bill give these powers permanently, and does it close in that gap which we thought we had not left when the original Bill was before us?

§ Sir V. HENDERSON
Yes, the Bill will make these powers permanent, and as certain legislation in Northern Ireland has been held up I hope the House will give me all stages of the Bill to-night.