§ Mr. DouglasI beg to move, in page 26, line 3, to leave out from "shall," to "expire," in line 4.
I have put down this Amendment in order to stress the desirability of this legislation being brought into operation as quickly as possible. It is now some weeks since I put it upon the Order Paper, and the Bill was brought from the other House a month ago. The war is impinging more and more harshly, naturally and inevitably, upon a great many people, and the operations of the Attorney- 1045 General's colleague, the President of the Board of Trade, in regard to the concentration of industry and many other things, are creating difficulties. The Measure ought to be applied as speedily as possible, and if there is any possibility of bringing it into operation sooner than the date which is contemplated, it would certainly be a very good thing.
§ The Attorney-GeneralWhen my hon. Friend speaks he gives the impression of being a very accurate man, but it is sometimes a misleading impression. He said that this Bill was brought in months ago—
§ Mr. DouglasNo, Sir, I said one month ago.
§ The Attorney-GeneralI beg your pardon, Sir. I misheard.
§ Mr. DouglasI said I put down the Amendment some weeks ago.
§ The Attorney-GeneralThere is a lot of work to be done on this Bill, and I do not think we can proceed more speedily. The time spent since the Bill was brought in has not been wasted. We have been considering these other matters, and although I agree that it is very desirable that it should be expedited, I do not think this Amendment will be of any use.
§ Mr. DouglasIn view of the Attorney-General's statement, I beg to ask leave to withdraw the Amendment.
§ Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
§ Clause ordered to stand part of the Bill.