THIRD SCHEDULE.—(Enactments Re-pealed.) (Hansard, 30 January 1930)

§ Miss BONDFIELD
I beg to move, "that this House doth agree with the Lords in the said Amendment."
This is a purely technical Amendment.

§ Major ELLIOT
This Amendment is definitely simpler than the last. I understand from the right hon. Lady that the "30" appears by inadvertence and that it should be "15." I take it that the right hon. Lady is not saying anything other than what she has explained to us. I had a slight difference of opinion with the right hon. Lady earlier in the evening, because we had not been explicit enough in demanding a full explanation which she considered she had given earlier in the debate. [Interruption.] The right hon. Lady left the subject by indicating that she had made a slip and therefore I am not sure that we shall not be charged with having made a slip if this turns out to be another. [Interruption.] The right hon. Lady does, however, assure me that this is purely a drafting Amendment and that there is no question of a slip being raised against us. If it turns out that the right hon. Lady has repealed half the legislation in Christendom or has instituted something like a revolution we shall be entitled to escape responsibility for her error. We accept this Amendment purely on the strength of our belief in her childlike innocence and her sweet and simple candour. In this, the concluding stages of what has been a very long discussion, reaching from the November debates till the pre- 1365 sent moment, I am sure that no better testimony will be desired by the Minister than that at this point we should not desire to question the statement she has made. We are perfectly content to take her at her word and to believe that she is not in any way attempting to pull the wool over our eyes. In a few minutes we shall have parted with the final stages of this Measure, and I am sure the whole House would wish me to congratulate the right hon. Lady upon the patience, upon the energy, and from time to time upon the brutal vigour with which she has conducted the debates. From time to time she has shown a more than masculine vigour in her demands for the Closure to stop further discussion, but we can forgive that, because the right hon. Lady has had so much verbiage to listen to from her comrades upstairs. We can therefore forgive her if she shows a certain amount of impatience when she can do so safely, that is to say, when she is dealing with the Opposition instead of with her own supporters who spend most of their time abusing her either in public or in private. We are glad to accept her assurance, and we shall not vote against, the motion.

§ Mr. C. WILLIAMS
I am not sure that I can follow my hon. and gallant Friend in the extraordinarily polite statement which he has just been making. I can assure him that, if he had really gone into the matter with care and found that it was necessary to substitute "15" for "30," he would have done something to strengthen my opinion as to whether we can accept the right hon. Lady's opinion whether it ought to be "15" or "30." It is a very serious matter; an extraordinarily serious one. Here are we, innocent Members of the House of Commons, who are only desirous of shortening procedure at this time in the morning. The right hon. Lady and the Parliamentary Secretary who have such a wonderful amount of virtue—

§ Mr. SPEAKER
I have allowed a great deal of latitude in this debate, but I do not see the relevance of the hon. Gentleman's remarks.

§ Mr. WILLIAMS
I was only going to say how extraordinarily difficult it is for this House when called upon suddenly to 1366 deal with these most complicated questions, to do so satisfactorily. All I can say is that as far as I am personally concerned, I shall have on this occasion, as on some others, to accept the decisions to which the right hon. Lady has come.