§ Mr. HaleI gave notice, Mr. Speaker, that I proposed to seek your guidance on a different subject, but may I first of all sincerely apologise to the right hon. Gentleman the Secretary of State for the Colonies for not giving him notice on the matter? I had intended to do so, but I was preoccupied this morning, and I knew that in any event he was going to be here.
I want to raise the question of the British Guiana Constitution Order which was down on the Order Paper on 5th November as being laid, a copy of which is known to have been placed in the Library of the House of Commons and that of the House of Lords on 5th November.
This is no normal Statutory Instrument. It is, in fact, a draft of an Order in Council designed to alter the whole Constitution of a British Colony, to substitute government by the Governor for the time being, and then to substitute vicarious government by the Governor by a Council of 24.
That Order is still not available in the Vote Office, 14 days after we were told that it had been laid. Under the British Guiana Act, 1928, this is an Order which has to be prayed against within 21 sitting days of the House, subject, of course, to the Amendment of Statutory Instruments Act, 1946, which extends the period to 40 days.
The matter on which I am seeking your guidance, Mr. Speaker, is not merely the grave lapse of time. The Colonial Secretary, in answer to a Question by the hon. Member for Eton and Slough (Mr. Fenner Brockway) as far back as last Thursday, promised that it would be available within two or three days. Apart from the grave lapse of time so far as this House 1731 is concerned, and the fact that it is not available for discussion, it is the fact that during all this time no one in the British Colony knows what is the law. People who want to bring actions have no way of finding out what the facts are. The document is only available in the Library of the House of Commons and cannot be seen by them at all, and we are again told that it may be a day or two before it is available.
§ Mr. SpeakerThe hon. Member gave me notice and asked me a question about it. It really has nothing to do with me at all, but, in order to try to comply with the hon. Member's request, I made some inquiries. It seems that the position is that a small number of copies of this Order will be delivered to the Vote Office within two or three days. There are two copies at present in the Library for the use of hon. Members. That is all I have been able to find out.
§ Mr. LytteltonMay I add something to what you have said, Mr. Speaker? I am sorry if any inconvenience has been caused to hon. Members, but I can inform the House that 100 copies of the Order in Council will be available in the Vote Office after 5 o'clock tonight.
§ Mr. SpeakerWe cannot proceed with this matter any further now. It is most irregular.