§ Mr. LANSBURYMay I ask the Prime Minister what is to be the business for next week, and also whether he can tell us anything about the adjournment and the re-assembly of Parliament?
§ The PRIME MINISTERI am afraid that I cannot to-day give a definite date for the re-assembly, but I hope to be able to do so soon. The Government always desire to give the longest recess possible to Members compatible with getting through business which must be got through. The Business for next week will be:
Monday: Report and Third Reading, Restriction of Ribbon Development Bill. [Lords.]
Tuesday: Consideration of Lords Amendments to the Government of India Bill and the Housing (Scotland) Bill, and to any other Bills. Further progress will be made with the Money Payments (Justices Procedure) Bill [Lords], and other business.
I may say that the Lords Amendments to the Government of India Bill were circulated this morning, and the explanatory memorandum on the Amendments of substance which the Government have prepared is available to Members in the Vote Office.
2017 Wednesday: Consolidated Fund (Appropriation) Bill, Second Reading. I understand that the subject for discussion will be agriculture.
Thursday: Remaining stages of the Consolidated Fund (Appropriation) Bill, when, I understand, discussion will take place on the international situation.
If all outstanding business has been disposed of, the Motion for the Summer Adjournment will be taken on Friday, 2nd August. The Adjournment Motion will contain the usual provisions to empower Mr. Speaker, on representations being made by the Government, to call the House together at an earlier date, if such a course should appear necessary in the public interest.
§ Mr. LANSBURYI should be glad if the right hon. Gentleman would, at the earliest possible moment, let me put a question as to when we shall reassemble. Every Member is entitled to know that as early as possible. It was our intention to use the Consolidated Fund Appropriation Bill on Thursday to ask the House to discuss a Motion on international affairs, but we have come to the conclusion that on this occasion we shall leave the ordinary procedure where it is. We shall have the same discussion.
§ The PRIME MINISTERI am equally anxious with the right hon. Gentleman to fix the date as soon as I possibly can. It is always a question at this time as between one week and another. One is anxious to give as substantial a Recess as possible. In regard to the second point that is raised, I feel very glad, if I may say so, although it is hardly within my province, that there is no particular Motion, because the position with regard to many things at the present moment on the Continent is of a rather critical
§ kind. A general Debate will be much better.
§ Mr. MAXTONThere is a Motion on the Order Paper in the name of one of my hon. Friends calling attention to what we regard as misconduct on the part of a Scottish judge—
That, in the opinion of this House, the Government should take the necessary steps to remove from the judicial bench Sheriff Robertson, Sheriff Substitute for Lanarkshire, for his harsh and overbearing conduct in general and, in particular, because of the partial and biassed way in which he conducted the trial on 24th, 25th and 26th June in Glasgow Sheriff Court, of eight persons from the Garngad district of Glasgow for alleged perjury, by his interruptions of counsel for the defence in his cross-examination of police and other witnesses; by his statement to one witness that Black Maria police vans would require to be doubled in size if this sort of thing continued, and so conveying to the jury, in a way that he was not entitled to do, his opinion that all the prisoners were guilty of the alleged offence, and finally, in his summing-up, by his statement to the jury that the prosecution had proven their case without the shadow of a doubt, which was a question to be determined by the jury and not by the sheriff.Does the right hon. Gentleman think it will be possible to provide us with a certain limited amount of time necessary for the discussion of that Motion?
§ The PRIME MINISTERI do not know whether it will be possible. Perhaps the hon. Member will see my right hon. Friend the Patronage Secretary. The programme is very crowded now.
Motion made, and Question put,
That the Proceedings on Government Business be exempted, at this day's Sitting, from the provisions of the Standing Order (Sittings of the House)."—[The Prime Minister.]
§ The House divided: Ayes, 175; Noes, 13.
2019| Division No. 291.] | AYES. | [3.45 p.m. |
| Adams, Samuel Vyvyan T. (Leeds, W.) | Boulton, W. W. | Chamberlain, Rt. Hon. N. (Edgbaston) |
| Agnew, Lieut.-Com. P. G. | Brass, Captain Sir William | Chorlton, Alan Ernest Leofric |
| Albery, Irving James | Briscoe, Capt. Richard George | Christie, James Archibald |
| Allen, Lt.-Col. J. Sandeman (B'k'nh'd) | Broadbent, Colonel John | Cobb, Sir Cyril |
| Apsley, Lord | Brocklebank, C. E. R. | Colman, N. C. D. |
| Aske, Sir Robert William | Brown, Col. D. C. (N'th'l'd., Hexham) | Conant, R. J. E. |
| Bailey, Eric Alfred George | Brown, Brig.-Gen. H. C. (Berks., Newb'y) | Cooke, Douglas |
| Baillie, Sir Adrian W. M. | Burgin, Dr. Edward Leslie | Cooper, A. Duff |
| Baldwin, Rt. Hon. Stanley | Butler, Richard Austen | Crookshank, Capt. H. C. (Gainsb'ro) |
| Balniel, Lord | Caine, G. R. Hall- | Cross, R. H. |
| Barclay-Harvey, C. M. | Campbell, Sir Edward Taswell (Brmly) | Davies, Maj. Geo. F. (Somerset, Yeovil) |
| Beauchamp, Sir Brograve Campbell | Caporn, Arthur Cecil | Denman, Hon. R. D. |
| Beaumont, M. W, (Bucks., Aylesbury) | Castlereagh, Viscount | Dickie, John P. |
| Beaumont, Hon. R. E. B. (Portsm'th, C.) | Cayzer, Maj. Sir H. R. (Prtsmth., S.) | Doran, Edward |
| Beit, Sir Alfred L. | Cazalet, Capt. V. A. (Chippenham) | Dugdale, Captain Thomas Lionel |
| Duggan, Hubert John | Janner, Barnett | Procter, Major Henry Adam |
| Duncan, James A. L. (Kensington, N.) | Joel, Dudley J. Barnato | Radford, E. A. |
| Dunglass, Lord | Johnstone, Harcourt (S. Shields) | Raikes, Henry V. A. M. |
| Elliot, Rt. Hon. Walter | Kirkpatrick, William M. | Ramsay, T. B. W. (Western Isles) |
| Ellis, Sir R. Geoffrey | Lamb, Sir Joseph Quinton | Ramsden, Sir Eugene |
| Emmott, Charles E. G. C. | Leech, Dr. J. W. | Rathbone, Eleanor |
| Entwistle, Cyril Fullard | Lees-Jones, John | Rea, Sir Walter |
| Evans, David Owen (Cardigan) | Leighton, Major B. E. P. | Robinson, John Roland |
| Everard, W. Lindsay | Lindsay, Kenneth (Kilmarnock) | Rosbotham, Sir Thomas |
| Fielden, Edward Brocklehurst | Lloyd, Geoffrey | Ross, Ronald D. |
| Fleming, Edward Lascelles | Loder, Captain J. de Vere | Ruggles-Brise, Colonel Sir Edward |
| Foot, Isaac (Cornwall, Bodmin) | Lumley, Captain Lawrence R. | Runciman, Rt. Hon. Walter |
| Fox, Sir Gifford | Mabane, William | Russell, R. J. (Eddisbury) |
| Fraser, Captain Sir Ian | MacAndrew, Lieut.-Col. Sir Charles | Rutherford, John (Edmonton) |
| Fremantle, Sir Francis | MacAndrew, Major J. O. (Ayr) | Rutherford, Sir John Hugo (Liverp'l) |
| Glossop, C. W. H. | MacDonald, Rt. Hon. J. R. (Seaham) | Sanderson, Sir Frank Barnard |
| Gluckstein, Louis Halle | MacDonald, Rt. Hon. M. (Bassetlaw) | Shaw, Captain William T. (Forfar) |
| Goff, Sir Park | Macdonald, Capt. P. D. (I. of W.) | Shute, Colonel Sir John |
| Goodman, Colonel Albert W. | McLean, Major Sir Alan | Somervell, Sir Donald |
| Grattan-Doyle, Sir Nicholas | McLean, Dr. W. H. (Tradeston) | Southby, Commander Archibald R. J. |
| Graves, Marjorie | Macpherson, Rt. Hon. Sir Ian | Spears, Brigadier-General Edward L. |
| Gretton, Colonel Rt. Hon. John | Maltland, Adam | Stanley, Rt. Hon. Lord (Fyide) |
| Grimston, R. V. | Mailalieu, Edward Lancelot | Stanley, Rt. Hon. Oliver (W'morland) |
| Guinness, Thomas L. E. B. | Margesson, Capt. Rt. Hon. H. D. R. | Sugden, Sir Wilfrid Hart |
| Gunston, Captain D. W. | Mayhew, Lieut.-Colonel John | Sutcliffe, Harold |
| Guy, J. C. Morrison | Mills, Sir Frederick (Leyton, E.) | Thomas, James P. L. (Hereford) |
| Hacking, Rt. Hon. Douglas H. | Milne, Charles | Todd, A. L. S. (Kingswinford) |
| Hamilton, Sir R. W. (Orkney & Zetl'nd) | Mitchell, Harold P. (Br'tf'd & Chisw'k) | Touche, Gordon Cosmo |
| Hanbury, Sir Cecil | Mitchell, Sir W. Lane (Streatham) | Turton, Robert Hugh |
| Hannon, Patrick Joseph Henry | Monsell, Rt. Hon. Sir B. Eyres | Wallace, Captain D. E. (Hornsey) |
| Harbord, Arthur | Morgan, Robert H. | Wallace, Sir John (Dunfermline) |
| Harris, Sir Percy | Morris, Owen Temple (Cardiff, E.) | Ward, Lt.-Col. Sir A. L. (Hull) |
| Hartington, Marquess of | Muirhead, Lieut.-Colonel A. J. | Watt, Major George Steven H. |
| Harvey, George (Lambeth, Kenningt'n) | Munro, Patrick | Wedderburn, Henry James Scrymgeour- |
| Haslam, Henry (Horncastle) | Nation, Brigadier-General J. J. H. | Williams, Charles (Devon, Torquay) |
| Headlam, Lieut.-Col. Cuthbert M. | Nicholson, Godfrey (Morpeth) | Willoughby de Eresby, Lord |
| Heligers, Captain F. F. A. | Ormsby-Gore, Rt. Hon. William G. A. | Wills, Wilfrid D. |
| Henderson, Sir Vivian L. (Chelmsford) | Patrick, Colin M. | Wilson, Lt.-Col. Sir Arnold (Hertf'd) |
| Herbert, Capt. S. (Abbey Division) | Percy, Lord Eustace | Wise, Alfred R. |
| Horsbrugh, Florence | Petherick, M. | Wood, Rt. Hon. Sir H. Kingsley |
| Hudson, Capt. A. U. M. (Hackney, N.) | Peto, Sir Basil E. (Devon, Barnstaple) | Wood, Sir Murdoch McKenzie (Banff) |
| Iveagh, Countess of | Peto, Geoffrey K. (W'verh'pt'n, Bilst'n) | Young, Ernest J. (Middlesbrough, E.) |
| Jackson, Sir Henry (Wandsworth, C.) | Pickthorn, K. W. M. | |
| James, Wing-Com. A. W. H. | Powell, Lieut.-Col. Evelyn G. H. | TELLERS FOR THE AYES.— |
| Mr. Stuart and Captain Hope. | ||
| NOES. | ||
| Adams, D. M. (Poplar, South) | Foot, Dingle (Dundee) | Williams, Edward John (Ogmore) |
| Addison, Rt. Hon. Dr. Christopher | Jenkins, Sir William | Wilmot, John |
| Bevan, Aneurin (Ebbw Vale) | Kirkwood, David | |
| Cleary, J. J. | Macdonald, Gordon (Ince) | TELLERS FOR THE NOES.— |
| Daggar, George | Maxton, James | Mr. Buchanan and Mr. McGovern. |
| Davies, David L. (Pontypridd) | Tinker, John Joseph |
First Resolution read a Second time.