ADJOURNMENT (CHRISTMAS). (Hansard, 22 December 1938)

§ The Prime Minister (Mr. Chamberlain)
I beg to move, That this House, at its rising this day, do adjourn till Tuesday, 31st January; provided that if it is represented to Mr. Speaker by His Majesty's Government that the public interest requires that the House should meet at any earlier time during the Adjournment, and Mr. Speaker is satisfied that the public interest does so require, he may give notice that he is so satisfied, and thereupon the House shall meet at the time stated in such notice and the Government Business to be transacted on the day on which the House shall so meet shall, subject to the publication of notice thereof in the Order Paper to be circulated on the day on which the House shall so meet, be such as the Government may appoint, but subject as aforesaid the House shall transact its business as if it had been duly adjourned to the day on which it shall so meet, and any Government Orders of the Day and Government Notices of Motions that may stand on the Order Book for the 31st day of January or any subsequent day shall be appointed for the day on which the House shall so meet; provided also that in the event of Mr. Speaker being unable to act owing to illness or other cause, the Chairman of Ways and Means, in his capacity as Deputy-Speaker, be authorised to act in his stead for the purposes of this Resolution. The Motion for the Adjournment is in the usual form except for the proviso at the end, which is new, and the purpose of that is as follows. My attention has been drawn to the difficulty which may arise if you, Mr. Speaker, were ill or unable on account of any other cause to carry out the provisions of the Motion. As hitherto drafted, the Motion for Adjournment has placed the responsibility for calling the House together upon Mr. Speaker, and if he has not been able to undertake that responsibility there was no one else upon whom these powers would have devolved. If we wanted to call Parliament together again in these circumstances it could have been done by Proclamation, but the procedure under Proclamation is one which is tied down by certain limitations of time; and in the circumstances in which one might desire that Parliament should be called together it would probably mean that it would be required to be called together at once, and it certainly would not be desirable that there should be a delay owing to the Procedure. Therefore, we thought it was wise to provide that the Chairman of Ways and Means, in his capacity as Deputy-Speaker, should be authorised to act under 3142 this Resolution. I think we have made sufficient provision and, whatever the perils of the season may be, I do not think we have any reason to suppose that we shall have to put this proviso into force.

§ Mr. Attlee
I think it is a wise precaution for an eventuality which we hope will not happen. I hope the Prime Minister will carefully consider the point as to when the public interest requires that the House shall meet, and that it will be called together in good time if there are serious matters on which the House ought to be consulted. In view of past events, many people considered that the House should have been called together earlier last time.

Mr. David Adams
On a point of Order. Can we have a definition of the words "public interest"? During the Czechoslovakian crisis, in the Summer Recess, it appeared to myself and many others that the public interest was gravely imperilled, because it was a question of war or peace affecting millions of people in Czechoslovakia, and elsewhere, and that Parliament was not called together as early as it might have been. Surely, the public interest necessitated the summoning of Parliament at an earlier period; but the words "public interest," apparently, seem to cover everything except the public interest. I should like to ask your advice, Mr. Speaker, as to the correct definition of the "public interest" which must be served before the Government summon Parliament?

§ Mr. Speaker
The hon. Member asks me to define the words "public interest." The words "public interest" mean public interest.

Mr. Adams
On a further point of Order. In view of the fact that the very fate of the country may be involved, surely we ought to have some specific definition of what the words mean. This is not a new Motion.

§ Mr. Ede
May we take it that "public interest" will not mean the private convenience of occupants of the Treasury Bench? On behalf of the back-benchers, I should like to say that we trust neither hope nor fear have caused the Government to put the last words in the Motion.
3143 We hope that we shall see you, Mr. Speaker, in January, or whenever we next meet, in your usual health and strength, and we sincerely trust that the Government have no sinister designs in regard to yourself.

§ Mr. Speaker
I hope that is in the public interest.

§ Mr. Wedgwood Benn
I think my hon. Friend the Member for Consett (Mr. David Adams) has put a point of some substance. Although you, Mr. Speaker, are required under the terms of the Motion to be satisfied as to the public interest, the prime responsibility for deciding whether the public interest is involved rests with the Government. I submit that it is in order for my hon. Friend, if he wishes, to press his point, because it is not a derisory point but one of great substance. Many people felt, and I did so myself, that during the time of the September crisis the House might well have been called together in the public interest before we were committed to a certain course. Therefore, it would be in order if the Prime Minister could answer my hon. Friend in some way upon the point of substance which he has raised.

§ The Prime Minister
I do not think I can give any further answer.

§ Mr. James Griffiths
We are all agreed that it is in the public interest that the rights of democracy should be upheld. Many of us felt that in the last crisis there was a slight put upon the House of Commons because it was not called together earlier, and that it would have been in the public interest that Britain should have shown at a time of crisis that this House was the responsible body to deal with the situation in a responsible way. May I ask whether on any future occasion the place and prestige of this House will be considered in the interest of maintaining democratic institutions?

§ Wing-Commander James
May I ask whether there has been any indication during the last few weeks from the Opposition that there is the least likelihood of the Opposition acting in a responsible way?

§ Mr. Stephen
I should like to point out to the Prime Minister in this connection that there is now a Leader of the Opposition who receives a salary. In view of that fact, I think he should have a certain amount of responsibility with regard to the convening of the House in a crisis. Therefore, I would ask the Prime Minister whether in future he will take that point into consideration and give the Leader of the Opposition certain responsibility for the convening of the House in time of crisis.

Mr. David Adams
I should like to ask whether I can have the definition for which I have asked, in view of the fact that the public interest was most seriously jeopardised during the Summer Recess in the matter of the redrawing of the map of Europe, the fate of millions of people and the safety and welfare of this country and the Empire. All these interests were involved, and yet in the judgment of the Prime Minister the public interest was in no degree involved. Can we have a definition of "public interest"?

§ Mr. Speaker
I do not think any definition can be given other than that which I have given.