§ Miss DevlinOn a point of order, Mr. Speaker. While I respect the view of the Chair on the point raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Fermanagh and South Tyrone (Mr. McManus), may I ask you what redress not an individual Member but the entire House has in the event of a subsidiary power to this House legislating or acting in a manner contradictory to the understood constitution of this country and of the House of Commons or of the constitution of such subsidiary body? I refer to the power of the civil authority in the Parliament of the North of Ireland to use legislation—namely, the Special Powers Act—in order to involve Her Majesty's Forces without in fact constituting Her Majesty's Forces as the civil authority, thereby using the rule of common law to involve Her Majesty's Forces 1731 in legislation of this subsidiary Parliament, which I understand, is against the constitution of the North of Ireland.
How can such a matter be raised in this House?
§ Mr. SpeakerIt cannot be raised on a point of order today, although it is without doubt a serious matter. But it is a matter of argument and not of order and there are other means by which the matter may be argued out. I agree that it should be argued out, but it is not a point of order for today.