§ Considered in Committee.
§ [COLONEL CLIFTON BROWN in the Chair.]
§ Clauses 1 to 4 ordered to stand part of the Bill.
§ CLAUSE 5. — (Purposes for which emergency statutes may be made.)
§ 5.41 p.m.
§ Sir Arthur SalterI beg to move, in page 4, line 8, at the end, to insert, "or is made with his consent."
This is a very small Amendment, which I hope the Government will be able to accept. Paragraph (d) provides for suspending or modifying certain of the statutes with regard to residence, and it adds a complete protection with regard to the individual holder that
no such suspension or modification shall be made unless it is in the interests of the holder thereof.My Amendment does not in any way impair that protection; but it gets over what I am told is sometimes a technical 800 difficulty, that even where modification is reasonable, and even acceptable to the person or persons affected, it cannot be done without long delay and difficulty in the absence of a provision to enable these powers to be applied if the holder consents, even though it should be, technically and legally, against his interests.
§ 543 p.m.
§ The Attorney-General (Sir Donald Somervell)I am not sure that these words are necessary, but I appreciate that the hon. Member the junior Burgess for Oxford University (Sir A. Salter) has cases in mind which he thinks might not be covered unless the words are inserted. They, clearly, would do no harm, and might do good. I would only say that if these words are inserted it should be clearly provided that the consent should be in writing and in proper form. With that proviso, I have no objection to the Amendment.
§ Amendment agreed to.
§ Clause, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.
§ CLAUSE 6. —(Manner of making emergency statutes.)
§ 5.44 p.m.
§ Mr. PickthornI beg to move, in page 6, line 4, after "College," to insert:
or, if within fourteen days after it has been made the visitor has neither approved nor declined to approve it, by the Lord Chancellor.I do not think it necessary to explain what are the functions of a visitor. It is sufficient to say that for the purposes of this temporary alteration of statutes, which is the main object of the Bill, the visitor's consent is necessary. Visitors are of various kinds. For instance, Lord Baldwin is a visitor of various colleges, and it might well happen that he would be out of England for a considerable period. Several bishops are visitors, and there might be vacancies owing to demises. There are hereditary visitors, and there might be, therefore, a case of an infant visitor. It is clear that there should be power to appoint deputies. The simplest method seems to me to be to provide that where a visitor is not available the Lord Chancellor should be able to give the necessary consent.
§ 5.46 p.m.
§ The Attorney-GeneralFor the reasons given by my hon. Friend, I suggest that the Committee should agree to the Amendment.
§ Amendment agreed to.
§ Clause, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.
§ Remaining Clauses ordered to stand part of the Bill.
§ Bill reported, with Amendments; as amended, considered; read the Third time, and passed.