§ Dr. PETERSI beg to move, in page 25, line 13, to leave out the words "confined in prison," and to insert instead thereof the words "a prisoner in any prison."
These words which I propose should be inserted would follow the old Statute, and I feel sure that they will be acceptable to the Committee.
§ The SOLICITOR-GENERALI am prepared to advise the Committee to accept this Amendment. I do not think there is any very great substance in the change of words, but it is true that the wording in Clause 53 of the Bill, while I think reproducing the sense of the old Statute, does depart from the wording. The hon. Member's wording is a return to the wording of the former Statute, and I am prepared to accept it.
§ Amendment agreed to.
§ The following Amendment stood on the Order Paper:
§
In page 25, line 27, at the end, to add the words:
(3) Provided that notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section nothing herein shall prevent a solicitor from continuing his practice as a solicitor or employing a duly qualified person to do so, pending an appeal from his conviction and/or sentence, or from prosecuting personally or through such other person his appeal."—[Dr. Peters.]
§ The CHAIRMANThe Amendment standing in the name of the hon. Member for Huntingdon (Dr. Peters) is out of order.
§ Clauses 54 to 83 ordered to stand part of the Bill.
§ First, Second, Third and Fourth Schedules agreed to.
§ Bill reported; as amended, considered.
§ Motion made, and Question proposed, "That the Bill be now read the Third time."—[The Solicitor-General.]
§ Dr. PETERSPerhaps I may now be in order in pointing out to the House what has happened in bringing this Bill before it. The Section, to which I referred in the Committee stage, of the old Act of 1843, has certainly not been reproduced in Clause 53 of the Bill. While there is the principle that in a Consolidation Bill you must not introduce anything fresh, you may correct obvious errors. Undoubtedly here there has been an extension of the law. I am not complaining, because years ago when the old Act of 1843 was passed, there obviously must have been an omission, and it is quite right that there should be in the Bill the words that we now have, referring to matters in bankruptcy, as well as to other suits and acts. I would like to point out that when we are dealing with the consolidation of a number of Statutes as here, it should be within our province to go into these matters very carefully in Committee stage, and to rectify anything that apparently is wrong. These Amendments which stand in my name on the Order Paper, and to which reference has been made, deal quite clearly with points that ought to have been covered in legislation dealing with solicitors. There is one Clause at which hon. Members have probably looked, and they will have seen that where there is some allegation against the solicitor he can be called to order by the committee of the Law Society, and if any proceedings are to be taken in the High Court notice is to be served by the applicant or complainant upon the Registrar of the Law Society, but there is no provision for any notice to be served upon the solicitor concerned.
§ Mr. DEPUTY-SPEAKER (Sir Dennis Herbert)I am very sorry to interrupt the hon. Member, but I am afraid that he is again out of order. On the Third Reading we can only discuss what is in the Bill, but he is now not only discussing 2059 something which is not in the Bill but something which would not be within the scope of the Bill, and which would not permit of the Bill going through as a consolidation Bill, as his proposal is to improve the law.
§ Dr. PETERSI realise the difficulty of my position, but I wanted to make a point on the question of procedure on a Consolidation Bill. I bow to your Ruling, and I hope that the Solicitor-General at an early date will bring in an amending Bill so as to provide for the points which I have raised and which, as a matter of procedure, are following in actual practice. When detailing in a Bill a certain procedure, it seems rather ridiculous to leave those things out of the Bill.
§ Mr. DEPUTY-SPEAKERIt is quite obvious that the hon. Member cannot now discuss what the rules of procedure ought to be with regard to consolidation Bills. The whole theory and practice of consolidation Bills would be entirely put an end to and all consolidating Bills would be absolutely stopped for ever, if what the hon. Member is now advocating were permitted in this procedure.
§ Dr. PETERSWith all respect, let me say that the point I was making was not exactly that, but was a plea to the Solicitor-General that he might in the near future bring in a Bill to put right those things to which I have called attention, and for which there is undoubtedly urgent need.
§ The SOLICITOR-GENERALI assure the hon. Member that his representations shall have due consideration. In the meantime, as a necessary preliminary to the consideration of those matters, I hope that we shall have the Third Reading of this Bill. Unless we get that, and consolidate the law, as things are at present it will not be possible even to consider an amendment of the law.
§ Mr. LAWSONAs one who was a Member of the Joint Committee that examined this Bill, I recall that I wondered when I was appointed and found myself a member of the Committee, why an hon. Member who was lacking in legal knowledge was placed on the Committee. I soon found out, because when I got there I found that I had one of the best qualifications, and 2060 that was that I had my trade union ticket as a miner in my pocket. I can only say that, so far as it was possible for a layman like myself to judge, the learned gentlemen with whom I sat were scrupulously careful to avoid changing in any way the spirit of the law, thus preserving the first fundamental principle of a consolidation Bill.
5.30 p.m.
I am very pleased to see the facility with which the Bill has gone through, but it seems strange that in a matter like this consolidation can be readily obtained, while in the case of the law relating to some very grave matters, affecting great masses of the people of this country, no time can be found for its consolidation or its consideration. The Government have given promises that there would be a Bill to consolidate the law relating to Unemployment Insurance, but, although they are agreed as to the necessity for its consolidation, they have always failed to find time for it. I am sure the House will be interested to know that I, as. a good trade unionist, found myself in harmony with the gentlemen sitting round me who were concerned with the protection of their minimum wages. I only wish that the trade unionists of this country, and particularly the miners, could have as good rules with regard to their business as the lawyers will obtain by the passing of this Bill.