FIRST SCHEDULE.—(Procedure with respect to the making and approval of Orders under Section One.) (Hansard, 5 May 1939)

§ Mr. Ede
In view of the way in which we have been met by the promoters of the Bill, my hon. Friend the Member for Consett (Mr. David Adams) and I do not intend to move the first five Amendments to the First Schedule.

§ Lieut.-Colonel Moore-Brabazon
I beg to move, in page 6, line 20, to leave out paragraph 4, and to insert: 4. If the draft order as settled by the Board under paragraphs 1 to 3 of this Schedule does not amend or repeal any provision in a public, general, or local, or private Act, the Board shall cause the draft order as so settled to be laid before both Houses of Parliament, and the order shall not be made unless both Houses by resolution approve the draft, either without modification or addition or with modifications or additions to which both Houses agree, but upon such approval being given the Board may make the order in the form in which it has been approved, and the order on being so made shall be of full force and effect. 5. If the draft order as settled by the Board under paragraphs 1 to 3 of this Schedule amends or repeals any provision of any public, general, or local, or private Act, the draft order as so settled, shall be published in such manner as the Board think best adapted for informing persons affected, together with a notice that the draft order will be presented to both Houses of Parliament for approval, unless within such period, not being less than thirty days as may be specified in the notice, a memorial be presented to the Board by some person affected by the order, praying that the order shall not become law without confirmation by Parliament. 2281 6. If no such memorial has been presented within such period as aforesaid or if any such memorial has been withdrawn the Board shall cause the draft order as so settled to be laid before both Houses of Parliament, and the provisions of paragraph 4 of this Schedule shall apply. 7. It any such memorial has been presented within such period as aforesaid and has not been withdrawn the Board may make the order in the terms of the draft but the order shall have no effect until confirmed by Parliament, and the Board may submit the order to Parliament for confirmation. 8. If while the Bill confirming any such order is pending in either House of Parliament, a petition is presented against any order comprised therein the Bill so far as it relates to that order may be referred to a Select Committee, and the petitioner shall be allowed to appear and oppose as in the case of Private Bills. 9. The Board may revoke either wholly or partially any provisional order made by them before the order is confirmed by Parliament, but such a revocation shall not be made while the Bill confirming the order is pending in either House of Parliament. This is a consequential Amendment, following on the general discussion of Clause 1.

§ Mr. Ede
I beg to second the Amendment.

§ Mr. Rhys Davies
This appears to be a formidable Amendment, and yet we are told —

§ Mr. Cross
On a point of Order, Mr. Deputy-Speaker. We have already had a discussion of this Amendment on an earlier Amendment.

§ Mr. Deputy-Speaker
I was not in the Chair at the time, but if this Amendment was discussed on an earlier Amendment, there can be no further debate upon it now.

§ Mr. Holmes
I should like to express my thanks to the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade and the officials of his Department for having been good enough to give me a great deal of information which I could not possibly have obtained for myself. I also want to thank a number of my hon. Friends who have given me the best possible Parliamentary service by being present on the Committee stage and to-day, and remaining silent throughout. What is plain to me is this, 2282 that although there have been one or two points on which a number of hon. Members and a number of statutory authorities have differed regarding the wording of the Bill, apparently everybody is satisfied that a Bill of this character is necessary, and that it will do a great deal of good by preventing our losing either our coast or land inland by reason of the removal of sand and shingle. Now that we have practically agreed to the Measure in this House, I shall look forward to its going to another place and having a successful passage, so that it may be placed on the Statute Book before the present Session ends.

§ Mr. Rhys Davies
I am sure I shall speak for hon. Members of all parties when I congratulate the hon. Member for Harwich (Mr. Holmes) on his achievement. He has achieved something that is exceptional in that he has been able to meet conflicts of opinion from the extreme Right to almost the extreme Left. That is indeed a great achievement. From the very little knowledge I have of the problem, I feel sure that this Bill will obtain the desired results.

§ Mr. Cross
May I briefly add my congratulations to those which have already been expressed by the right hon. Member for Westhoughton (Mr. Rhys Davies) to my hon. Friend? The Bill has not been without its difficulties in connection with a good many points of which, my hon. Friend is well aware, but which are perhaps not immediately apparent to the House. It will be a satisfaction at all events to some hon. Members to think that to-day I alone have had a cross to bear.

§ Mr. R. Robinson
In rising to support the Third Reading of the Bill, I should like to add my congratulations to my hon. Friend the Member for Harwich (Mr. Holmes). This is a Bill which he has had very much at heart, and I know that he has done a great deal of work behind the scenes as well as on the Floor of the House in order to secure its passage. I congratulate him sincerely. By his efforts he has obtained Parliamentary recognition of the principle that owners of land along the seashore must not use their powers to remove shingle 2283 to the detriment of the countryside generally. I hope it may be that as a result of the action which we are taking to-day it will be possible to prevent the recurrence of floods such as those which took place at Horsey and did so much damage to the countryside, and I think the people in localities which are thus affected should be deeply grateful to my hon. Friend. During the last few years we have heard a great deal about the necessity for a strong Britain and about the defence of our country. I feel that the Measure which is now about to be approved by the House should play a great part in providing for the defence of our country against the inroads of nature. A strong sea coast is the nation's defence against the inroads of the sea, and by passing this Bill, we are, in that sense, making sure that the nation's defences are strong.