HC Deb 31 March 1936 vol 310 cc1891-4
Dr. BURGIN

I beg to move, in page 5, line 8, after "mill," to insert "in Great Britain."

This Amendment is moved obviously with the intention of preventing a mill which is outside Great Britain from contributing to the levy.

6.52 p.m.

Mr. H. G. WILLIAMS

The Parliamentary Secretary has said that the object of the Amendment is to prevent the levy falling upon a mill outside Great Britain, but if we levy a tax on a person we do not specify persons in Great Britain. Surely that is presumed. We only legislate in respect of our own domain. It will be interesting if the Attorney-General could tell us why this Amendment is necessary. The words seem to be unnecessary. I always oh jest to unnecessary words being in an Act of Parliament because later on judges have to scratch their heads and say, "Why are they there?" If we do not know why they are there, it is just as well that we should be told.

The ATTORNEY GENERAL (Sir Donald Somervell)

I think this is one of the drafting Amendments which have to be inserted because of the dropping of Clause 6. In that Clause there were two classes of mill, assessable and non-assessable. The words "Great Britain," are inserted to show to which mills the levy relates.

Mr. WILLIAMS

I can only speak again by leave of the House but I would like to point out that the Parliamentary Secretary has given one explanation of the Amendment, and the Attorney-General has given another. The President of the Board of Trade ought now to have a go and tell us what it is all about.

6.54 p.m.

Sir STAFFORD CRIPPS

Is it not a criterion of interpretation that the words "cotton mill" in this Clause would necessarily be read to mean, "cotton mill in Great Britain," provided that the Clause does not apply to Northern Ireland? If you start inserting in Bills the words "Great Britain" wherever you desire to limit the ambit of a clause to Great Britain, it will mean the revision of all the Statutes of this country. It is not customary to insert words such as "in Great Britain" in Statutes, because it is a criterion of interpretation that this Clause, for instance, can only extend to mills in Great Britain. Therefore, the words are unnecessary and are not usually utilised in drafting such a Clause. Great trouble will be caused if we begin inserting these words. They will be necessary throughout the Bill wherever anything is mentioned. You will have to put "in Great Britain" or else it will be assumed that it means something else—which is the ordinary dilemma of the draftsman, not only in this Bill but in a multitude of other Bills.

6.56 p.m.

The ATTORNEY-GENERAL

If I may speak again by leave of the House, I would say that I quite appreciate the importance of the point raised by the hon. and learned Member for East Bristol (Sir S. Cripps). The Clause deals primarily with owners, and in accordance with the more general principle which he has enunciated, the Amendment seeks to limit the operation of the Clause to owners in Great Britain. It was the desire to exclude from the operation of the Clause owners in Great Britain of mills outside Great Britain. It was thought that if these words were not inserted, the Bill might be supposed to cover owners in Great Britain of mills outside Great Britain. We will take proper steps to see that we do not give rise to the difficulties referred to by the hon. and learned Member.

Mr. SILVERMAN

Does not the Preamble completely cover the point which has been raised, in that it provides for the elimination of redundant spinning machinery in cotton mills in Great Britain"? Amendment agreed to.

6.57 p.m.

Dr. BURGIN

I beg to move, in page 5, line 23, to leave out "assessable cotton mills," and to insert "cotton mills in Great Britain."

There are three almost exactly similar Amendments, of which this is the first. They are drafting Amendments necessitated by the leaving out in Committee of Clause 6, which alone differentiated between classes of cotton mills. There is now no point in describing certain mills as assessable and leaving the other as merely cotton mills.

Amendment agreed to.

Further Amendments made: In page 5, line 26, leave out "which were then assessable cotton mills and," and insert "in Great Britain."

In page 6, line 25, leave out "an assessable," and insert "a."—[Dr. Burgin.]