Shops Act, 1950 (Hansard, 20 June 1963)

§ Mr. Hale
I have a Petition to present to this House signed by 12 of Her Majesty's liege subjects residing in or about the County Borough of Oldham. The first signatory is the occupier of a refreshment shop for the sale of refreshments on Sundays in Hollins Road, Oldham. The limited number of Petitioners is due to my own request that the Petition should not be delayed for the collection of signatures, but among the signatures I observe that of a highly respected and learned justice of the peace of the borough.
The question arises under the provisions originally enacted in the Shops (Sunday Trading Restriction) Act, 1936, of which Lord Justice Hewart said: Not often in the course of half a century of experience of the law have I had the opportunity of endeavouring to come to close quarters with such a piece of legislation. Sir William Jowitt,appearing on one side in this case, frankly admitted that the provisions of these two schedules, taken together and compared and contrasted with each other, were, to his mind, unintelligible. The matter has come before the courts again from time to time and the higher courts have, in fact, decided that, in view of the fact that they do not know what the provisions mean, they cannot interfere with the decision of the court below and must assume that it was right. In these circumstances, Parliament in its infinite wisdom re-enacted precisely the same provisions in the Shops Act, 1950.
614 The result is that my constituent is able on Sundays to sell, and does sell, meat pies and meat puddings, and he can sell hamburgers, a food of foreign origin and of uncertain constituents.

§ Mr. Speaker
I am enjoying this quite as much as anybody else, but it is nowhere near our rule relating to the introduction of public Petition.

§ Mr. Hale
The Petition raises the specific question on which Parliament has been clear. Parliament decided that he should not be allowed to sell fried fish and chips from a fried fish and chips shop, and he undoubtedly has a fried fish and chips shop. No reasons are given for this decision. Your Petitioners are unable to understand it.
Whether it was deemed that the aroma of frying batter was incompatible with the odour of sanctity or whether the sale of fried fish and chips would involve more noise than the sale of hot dogs, or, as I apprehend, whether the consumption of my constituent's products could induce a state of felicity incompatible with the stoic endurance of an English Sunday, I do not know. He can sell hot dogs and cold dogs, and one can now sell frozen chips from a supermarket or, indeed, from a common market, but not from a fried fish and chips shop.
In these circumstances, the Petition concludes: Wherefore your Petitioners humbly ask that the Commons should take this Petition under consideration and take such steps as in the circumstances may seem meet— I think that should be fish. And your Petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray.