HC Deb 13 July 1937 vol 326 cc1205-6

Order for Second Reading read.

10.32 p.m.

The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Lieut.-Colonel Colville)

I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

A Bill of this kind is passed annually, as the House knows, to confirm the Customs regulations of the Manx Legislature. The Isle of Man has a separate financial existence, and in particular it has customs and excise duties which it levies, subject to confirmation of customs, but not of excise duty, by the Imperial Parliament. It would be unprecedented for Parliament to alter the customs duty imposed by the Manx Legislature. The Bill this year has five Clauses and it covers resolutions of the Manx Legislature passed in order to bring the Customs duty in the island into line with the United Kingdom duties. Clause 1 of the Bill confirms the Resolution relating to certain duties which in the Isle of Man are imposed year by year while the corresponding United Kingdom duties are permanent. Clauses 2 and 3 of the Bill apply to the island the alteration of duty on Empire reed-organs and Empire silk embodied in the recent United Kingdom-Canada Trade Agreement. I hope the provision will be of value to the Isle of Man, although I see that the total number of reed-organs of Empire origin which were imported in the United Kingdom last year was only two, but perhaps from the freedom from duty which our agreement now provides, the Isle of Man, together with the United Kingdom, will benefit by a larger use of these instruments.

Clause 4 confirms resolutions of Tynwald, the Manx Legislature, by which certain duties imposed in the United Kingdom by orders made under the Irish Free State (Special Duties) Act, 1932, are applied to imports from the Irish Free State into the Isle of Man. The House will note that a modification on this occasion is the aboli- tion of the duty on Irish horses in conformity with the action taken in this country also. Clause 5 is merely the Short Title. The Bill contains nothing unusual and conforms with the practice which falls due each year of confirming the Resolutions of the Manx Legislature.

Question, "That the Bill be read a Second time," put, and agreed to.

Bill read a Second time.

Bill committed to a Committee of the Whole House for To-morrow.—[Sir G. Davies.]

The remaining Orders were read, and postponed.