§ The Joint Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation (Mr. John Hay)I beg to move, in page 34, line 13, column 3, at the beginning to insert:
From the beginning of October, nineteen hundred and fifty-nine, the words "not exceeding five hundredweight in weight" and 199 the word "untreated" in paragraph (a) of subsection (5) of section five.This Amendment is consequential on that made on 10th June, dealing with snow ploughs and similar equipment. That being so, I do not think that I need add anything to the words on the Order Paper.
§ Amendment agreed to.
§ Schedule, as amended, agreed to.
Mr. H. WilsonAt this stage, it is usual to felicitate the Chancellor for having piloted the Bill through—if I may use the phrase once again, although I think that that analogy has been rather overplayed in the successive sittings of the Committee. I think that the right hon. Gentleman will agree that this has been achieved, with fairly adequate discussion of new Clauses, in less time than for many years past. That is a tribute to both sides of the Committee for their business-like handling of the work
We have had one or two casualties in that the extent to which hon. Members on both sides wanted to speak on Entertainments Duty and on the diesel oil tax meant that we could not move all the Amendments that we would have wished by a reasonable hour. We felt that it was more for the convenience of the Committee and the House as a whole to withdraw those Amendments than to embark on further debate at that hour of the evening.
I think, however, that everyone will agree that we have had a very constructive series of debates, even if the Chancellor has not improved very much on his last year's record in the acceptance of Amendments. With the exception of one accepted this afternoon, all those to which he has agreed have come from the other side of the Committee. We have managed to get through the entire Committee stage without any unduly late sittings. There were rumours, I think, that we would be sitting very late tonight—which is no doubt the reason why my hon. Friend the Member for Gloucester (Mr. Diamond) came ready prepared in his pyjamas. I am glad that he will not need them, and we would like to join in thanking the Chancellor for the way in which the Bill has been piloted through Committee.
Mr. AmoryI should like to thank the right hon. Gentleman the Member for Huyton (Mr. H. Wilson) for the words he has used—with the exception of the repeated use of the analogy of piloting which, frankly, I do not quite understand. It is always very satisfactory when one gets safely into port, and I think we can say we have done that. Many of the Amendments and new Clauses have been debated very fully and forcefully, but I do not think that I can ever remember a Finance Bill in which the business has been dealt with so steadily, with very full and appropriate discussion of the more important items, and in a more pleasant atmosphere than has been the case this year. For that, I would like to thank all hon. Members.
§ Bill reported, with Amendments; as amended, to be considered Tomorrow, and to be printed.[Bill 121.]