§ Lords Amendment: In page 5, line 11, leave out Sub-section (2).
§ The SOLICITOR - GENERAL (Sir Thomas Inskip)I beg to move, "That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said Amendment."
It is only necessary to say, after the speeches to which we have listened, that this is an Amendment which will, I think, commend itself to the common sense of the House. The Bill, as it left this House, contained a provision that it should conic into operation on 1st December. As 1st December has passed, before the exigencies of Parliamentary time has permitted it to pass through another House through all its stages, it must be conformable only to common sense that we should omit the provision that it should come into force at a date which has already passed. The effect of assenting to the Amendment will be that the Bill will come into force when it receives the Royal Assent. I hope that fact will be sufficient to convince the House that the entertaining speech, which it is difficult to take very seriously, of the hon. and learned Gentleman has no substance in it.
§ Mr. MARJORIBANKSIf the hon. and learned Gentleman had not concluded his observations with his last remark, I should not have spoken again, but I will say this, that he has obviously missed the whole point of my argument. This is a most exceptional Statute. We have been told to disregard it entirely by those responsible for it. We have been told that it means nothing, and that is why I want it to be marked out from all the other Statutes by having a contradictory provision in it. I wanted it to be obvious that it is a Statute which should be ignored, as we have been told it should be ignored. It is absolutely unique and I want the whole world and the Dominions to understand that this Statute is nothing in the great and memorable history of the British Empire.