§ 6.15 p.m.
§ The Lord Privy Seal (Mr. Arthur Greenwood)I beg to move, in page 2, line 42, leave out "Provided that if," and insert "(4) Where."
This Amendment and the next two Amendments stand together, and are designed to clarify the Bill on a point which was raised by the hon. Gentleman the Member for The High Peak (Mr. Molson), who was supported by the hon. Member for Mid-Bedfordshire (Mr. Lennox-Boyd) when we met in Standing Committee. They suggested that the 2169 effect of the proviso to Clause 3 (3) as it stands, would be that the two chairmen, who will be in authority in these matters, might, without reference to the petitioner, amend a petition by striking out those parts of it which amounted in substance to a Prayer against the Order generally, and so leave the petitioner without even the very limited rights which the Bill confers upon petitioners who desire to contest the whole Order in Committee.
I may say that I was not one of the authors of this Bill but I think I can say that that was never intended when the Bill was originally introduced. The object of the proviso was merely to enable a petitioner to proceed with as much of his petition as he could, by amendment, in a case where the chairman would otherwise be obliged to certify the whole petition as one of general objection—in which case I think an injustice would have been done to the petitioner. These Amendments are designed to make the intention of the Bill quite clear in this matter, and I hope they will meet with the approval of the hon. Gentleman.
§ Mr. Molson (The High Peak)I should like to express my gratitude to the Lord Privy Seal for having moved this Amendment. It seemed to us, when we raised this matter on the Committee stage, that the Bill was, at best, ambiguous, and that it might very well result in a very serious injustice to some petitioner. I think that the words which the right hon. Gentleman has moved will both make the Bill quite plain and will also insure adequate justice being done to the petitioner.
§ Amendment agreed to.
§
Further Amendments made: In page 2, line 45, leave out "either certify the petition," and insert:
if they certify that the petition is proper to be received, certify it.
§
In line 46, leave out "or," and insert:
Provided that if the petitioner satisfies the Chairmen that some only of the amendments involved would constitute a negative of the main purpose of the order, the Chairmen may.
§ In line 46, leave out "therefrom."—[Mr. Greenwood.]